Saving The Lost
by Shade the Hero
Summary: Maleficent has won. Riku is held Prisoner, Sora is about to be executed and no one will say what happened to Kairi. Sora blames himself for everything and all seems lost. It's up to some strong and well known fighters to come to the rescue. Will Sora be able to recover and finish what he started? Or will Maleficent continue to rule over all? AU
1. Judgement Day

_**This story is based off of a dream I had. I decided to take the idea and expand on it. I haven't decided on an ending yet and barely know what's going to happen beyond chapter three, but I promise it'll be good. Look what happened to "Bond of Flame" and that was originally suppose to be a one-shot. ;) **_

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><p><strong>Saving the Lost<strong>

**Chapter One**

_How did this happen?...How could everything have boiled down the this? Why did this have to happen to me...?_

Thoughts like this kept swirling the young boy's mind as he sat on the cold stone floor, chained to the wall by his wrists. His clothes, which were once rich in color and contained a special power were now ripped, torn and faded, their power long gone. His once bright, kind eyes were now soulless and defeated. The one power he still wielded he refused to wield, for it had caused nothing but death and destruction.

The only form of comfort he had left, was knowing that his only surviving friend was in the next cell over. He couldn't see him, but he knew he was there. The two best friends had once shared a dream to leave their home seek out new worlds, to see new places and meet new people. To share grand adventures and discover what destiny had in store for them. That was over two years ago, if the boy could take it all back, he would and he never would have left his island. He would rather have met his fate at the hands of the heartless; the very creatures he had sworn to destroy.

As far as the boy was concerned he was as good as dead. He no longer had the strength to go on. His body was bruised, broken and bleeding. His fighting spirit and normal carefree nature had long since died and it wouldn't be long before his body did the same.

A commotion down the hall alerted the two prisoners that they were about to have a visitor. The boy was used to this. It was too soon for meal time. His usual slop didn't arrive 'til sunset. Perhaps it was the witch herself, coming to gloat and boast of her ultimate triumph. It turned out to be neither as several Neo-soldier heartless came down the hall with new shackles. They past the first boy's cell and stopped at the cell of their most hated and feared enemy.

The boy was unchained from the wall and forced to his feet. One of the heartless was forced to help the boy stand as they slapped on the new shackles and began pulling him out.

As they passed by the other occupied cell the silver-hair teen got a glimpse at his friend and the horrible condition he was in. Riku could barely believe his eyes. He had never seen his best friend like that and it scared him. So much so, that he couldn't believe it really was him.

"Where are you taking him?" Riku demanded as he launched himself at the bars. He managed to grab Sora's sleeve and refused to let go.

"Sora! You've got to snap out of it! We can still turn this around! Things look hopeless now, but it's not impossible! We can still win!"

Riku tried to revive his friend's fighting spirit. It was hard as it was usually Sora who was the encouraging voice of their team. But, Sora wasn't the same person after the torture he had been through.

"What's the point? She's gone because of me."

Riku was taken aback by Sora's response. He was about to talk some sense into his friend when the heartless succeeded in separating the two, forcing Riku away from the bars long enough to pull Sora away and lead him back up the stairs.

"It wasn't your fault, Sora!" Riku cried out to his friend.

"It wasn't your fault!"

The dungeon doors slammed, cutting off any further outbursts.

Sora was led outside, into the courtyard of what used to be the beautiful garden of Disney Castle. Now renamed The Forbiddon Palace, it had been transformed to look more like Maleficent's previous home in the Forbidden Mountains. She was standing in the courtyard center. Other people who had been summoned from different worlds to watch the event stood along the edges, while trying to be careful of the sharp thorns that snaked around the walls like devious serpant-like vines.

As Sora was forced to kneel before Maleficent he took a moment to glance around at his surroundings. He recognized some of the people. Pinocchio and his father, Gepetto were there. Scrooge Mc'Duck was there, as was Jack Skellington, Jack Sparrow and Aladdin.

"My, my, such a big crowd for such a special occasion. Allow me to be the first to thank you all for attending." Maleficent began as she addressed the crowd.

"It wasn't by choice, Ya wicked lass!" Scrooge huffed in a foul temper. He remembered how rudely the messengers had treated him and the threat in the invitation to anyone who refused.

Maleficent seemed hurt by his reply. "Why, Mr. Mc'Duck, surely you wouldn't miss out on something as important as this; the last chapter in my magnificent triumph."

"There's nothing magnificent about killing the innocent!" He retorted.

"Innocent?" Maleficent laughed. "Look around you, Duck. All of you are helpless and defeated and it's all thanks to this boy. I brought you all here to witness his end and perhaps give you hope of one day returning to your normal lives. He is the one who made your lives miserable. He challenged the darkness and it unleashed its mightiest forces as a result. Had he chose to mind his own business none of this would have happened. In fact, I should be thanking him."

She then turned to Sora and bowed to him in mocking fashion. "I couldn't have done it without you, Sora."

The boy merely kept his eyes trained on the ground in front of him, not giving any hint that he had heard her, in fact he hadn't. He was trapped in his own thoughts. All these worlds he had visited and helped, but it didn't seem to matter in the end. Everything they had worked for was undone in a single week. How could he have been so blind? The keyblade had chosen wrong and he was about to pay the price...actually, he had already paid the price when he had lost the person he cared the most for.

Maleficent motioned for the heartless to bring forth the person who would end Sora's suffering.

Pete seemed oddly nervous as he approached the center of the courtyard. The wicked witch glared at him. "Well? Go ahead. He's given you nothing but trouble as well. Finish him, and earn your place as my second in command."

"B-but I..." Pete stuttered.

"But what? Has he not given you just as much trouble as the rest of us?" She asked.

Pete thought back to all of the trouble the 'runt with the keyblade has caused. Sora had made Pete look like a fool many times, but he also remember a time long before joining Maleficent's ranks. Sora had helped him recover his steam boat from a look-a-like thief. Sure Sora had also mistaken him for a bad guy at first, but it was a simple case of mistaken identity.

Pete looked over at Maleficent, then back at Sora and once again at the witch.

"What's the matter?" She asked, getting annoyed.

"This don't feel right." Pete finally answered.

"Are you saying you refuse?!" Maleficent's anger was growing as green and black flames began to pulse from around her.

Pete gulped and took a step back. Earlier that day, he knew he would have the honor of killing the key bearer, but he was expecting a fight, or at least some resistance. Pete had been looking forward to it, but now, after seeing how defeated the kid looked, he couldn't bring himself to do it. There was no spark, no defiance, no confident attitude, Sora looked dead on his feet, as if he had already lost himself to the darkness.

"You useless imbecile!" Maleficent cried. "I'll finish him then, if you're too afraid!"

She raised her staff towards Sora and was about to strike him down when the rescue action was put into play.

From out of his pocket, Aladdin pulled out the magic lamp and gave it a rub. Pink and Blue fireworks began shooting into the sky.

As Maleficent turned to see what was happening the sound of an engine was heard. It kept getting louder until a Black motorcycle shot out from over the far wall and landed in the courtyard.

Its rider had a black outfit on and goggles that protected his eyes. Several compartments opened up from the side of his bike to expose several swords. Taking three of them, he connected them together into one before removing his goggles and brandishing his weapon at the witch. "Why not try your luck with someone who can fight back?" Asked the soldier.

"Well, if it isn't our dear friend Cloud." She remarked. "I see your still having trouble finding your light."

"That may be, but at least it wasn't hard to find Sora's."

Maleficent laughed. "Light? Whatever light he has left is dim at best. See for yourself, he's nothing but a shadow of his former self."

Cloud smirked. "I can see just fine, it's you who needs to get her eyes checked."

"Why you!" She shouted as she aimed her staff his way, but Cloud was too fast. In one swift motion he cut her staff in two with his sword before slicing clean through the shackles that imprisoned Sora. "C'mon!" He shouted, but Sora didn't move.

Cloud had no choice but to grab Sora by the arm and shove him onto his bike. during this time the neo soldiers had gathered and were preparing to attack, but the other members in the gathered crowd had begun to fight back.

Jack Skellington used his fire magic and spinning arms to knock down several enemies. Aladdin was swinging his curved blade. Jack Sparrow also wielded a blade, but he was also using his wit to make the heartless fight each other. Two of the soldiers stabbed each other when Sparrow jumped out of the way.

Pete took off like a coward as Maleficent went to launch herself at Cloud. She hadn't come this far to lose her chance to finish off the key bearer once and for all, but before she got close she was tripped by Scrooge's cane.

"Better luck next time lass!" He called with a snicker as he ran to help Cloud get Sora onto the seat. "Snap out of it, laddie! You've got to pull yourself together!"

Still no response. "It's no use Cloud! He's stuck is a daze!"

"Well then, we'll just have to escape without his help." Cloud replied as he opened the compartment once more and handed one of the other swords to Scrooge. "Know how to use it?" He asked.

Scrooge took the sword which was about as long as his cane. His eyes spoke of all of the sword fights he had been in. "Aye!"

The small group of rebels fought off as many heartless as they could, but it soon became clear that they were hopelessly outnumbered.

"We can't keep this up forever!" Cried the Pumpkin King. He had used much of his magic and was running low on elixirs. Aladdin and Sparrow were also getting tired and the pirate had found himself stuck in a corner.

"There's too many!" Scrooge called to Cloud as they battled just to stay alive at this point. Escape seemed impossible and Maleficent relaxed at the thought.

That expression of joy turned to one of surprise when Merlin appeared in the middle of the fray.

"Oh my, this is quite the predicament. No matter, an easy fix." He said to himself.

"Just get us out of here!" Scrooge blared at the sorcerer.

"Alright, no need to shout!" He replied. "Alakazam!" He shouted and all of the fighters had been engulfed in a puff of blue-ish grey smoke. When the area cleared, the Heartless and other forces of darkness were the only ones left in the courtyard.

Seeing this, Maleficent went on a rampage, destroying several heartless before stormed through the doors leading back to her personal chambers.

_~*~STL~*~_

The home of Master Yen Sid had been turned into the last fighting resistance against Maleficent and the heartless. It was there that Donald and Goofy were waiting for the group to return. When the chosen few were leaving, Donald had practically begged to go as had Goofy, but Cloud had openly pointed out that they had to appear casual. If the evil witch had seem them, then she'd know they were planning something. After everything Donald and Goofy had been through with Sora there was no way she would expect them to just stand by and watch. Now, it was simply a waiting game, and Donald was losing.

As he watched from the window Goofy was pacing around the room. "Gawrsh, do you think they're okay? What if they needed back up? What if the heartless got 'em?"

"You're not helping, Goofy!" Donald snapped. suddenly the front yard was filled with blue-ish grey smoke as the group appeared on the lawn. "They're back!" Donald shouted as he practically flew across the room.

The two charged down the stairs until Donald's feet tangled with Goofy's and the duo tumbled down the rest of the way, crashing through the front doors. they scrambled to get up as the group finally got a chance to see the condition of the one they had rescued.

When Donald and Goofy reached Cloud's motorcycle they were appalled by the condition their friend was in.

Before either of the two could approach, Merlin appeared next to Sora and noticed that the boy had fallen unconscious.

"Oh dear, let's get him inside."

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><p><strong><em>It's official, spell check hates me. TT-TT<em>**


	2. Broken Key

_**Well, this chapter didn't take as long as I thought it would. I've been so focused on my other KH fic that I didn't think I'd get back to this for another week. :)**_

_**Disclaimer! I do not own Kingdom Hearts, that title and all related characters belongs to Disney and Square Enix.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Sora was drifting. He could feel that he was lying on his back and floating on the surface of water. It was a nice escape from the hell he had been through over the past few weeks. Sora had lost all sense of time being trapped in that cell, but he knew it had been long enough for Maleficent to change not only Disney Castle, but every other world to her liking. Heartless ran wild and no one was able to stop them.

All of that seem to fade now though, as he calmly drifted through gentle waves. It was similar to the dreams he once had before being chosen by the keyblade. As he washed up on the shore he finally gave in to curiosity and sat up to look around. He was back on the shores of Destiny Islands. It was sunset and everything was just as peaceful as the day before the heartless attacked. It seemed like a lifetime ago now, but all of the memories came rushing back. He almost expected to look up and see Kairi standing over him and accusing him of being lazy.

Suddenly he felt a strange feeling of loneliness, as if someone who was once always there had only been a figment of his imagination. A voice made him turn towards the ocean. It was Riku! He was waving to Sora and then held out his hand, beckoning for Sora to join him.

Sora knew this dream. He had experienced it before and knew what to expect, or at least he thought he did.

As he ran into the shallows to meet up with Riku the water suddenly turned pitch black and resembled the shadows that threatened to engulf him like that horrible day when Destiny Islands was swallowed by the darkness. Riku still stood there, but he seemed weak and injured. As if the dark water was causing him great pain. Sora ran to reach his friend and get him to safety when a wave rose up from the depths and threatened to wash over them, but Sora froze in place as two glowing yellow eyes appeared in the center of the wave. The water transformed into large, outstretched wings of a dragon and a snout appeared just below the eyes as the wave charged towards Riku. Sora called out his name and as the older boy turned, his face was painted with a look of pure terror. The dragon's jaws opened up and swallowed Riku up in one bite. Its jaws clamped shut as the dragon now headed for Sora. Sora screamed and raised his arms in front of his face as the wave crashed into him and he was swallowed by darkness.

"Sora!...Sora calm down! Hey! Can somebody give me a hand in here?!"

Tifa, a woman with long black hair that came down to the middle of her back and an equally black outfit tried to keep the boy calm, but was having little success.

Donald and Goofy entered and offered their help. The friendly knight tried shaking his friend, but that had no effect, Donald tried next by using a light ice spell, but that only made Sora toss and turn more violently.

"You're making it worse!" Tifa snapped.

Jack Sparrow was heading down the hall with a mop bucket full of water. He had been forced to scrub the floors after stealing something from the Good Faries' room and was making his way to carry out his punishment when he just happened to peak in and see what was unfolding.

Without a second thought he made his way in and threw the bucket of warm, soapy water over the boy's head.

This had the desired effect as Sora shot up into a sitting position coughing and choking.

The rest of the group glared at the pirate who held his hands up. "What? I got the lad to wake up didn't I?"

"There are better ways you know." Tifa replied.

"You're welcome." Sparrow replied.

They returned their gaze back to Sora who was looking around the room in a panic. "W-where?"

"It's alright, you're in Master Yen Sid's house. You're safe." Tifa told him, trying to calm him as best she could. She hadn't been part of the rescue mission and couldn't even begin to imagine what he must have went through.

Sora seemed to relax a little as he bent up his legs and hugged them, letting his chin rest on his knees.

"You were in bad shape when you were rescued Sora, everyone was real worried." Goofy told him, trying his best to be helpful.

"Yeah, but Cloud told everyone that you were a tough kid and that you'd be fine!" Donald added.

Sora's face suddenly seemed to darken as he buried his face in his knees. That was when the group heard feint sobs coming from the teen.

This scared Donald and Goofy. They had never seen their friend act like this. They expected him to sigh in relief or to smile, or laugh or something cheerful. Tifa hadn't known Sora for very long, but it worried her as well and Jack, well...he was occupied by his reflection in the mirror.

A Spiky blonde-haired man entered the room and glanced over at Jack. "I've been looking for you. You were suppose to start cleaning almost an hour ago. What are you doing in here?"

"Sorry mate, but it seems the water for my punishment was needed in the act of the more heroic kind." The pirate replied while waving his hand around, trying to indicate the event that took place.

"You mean when you nearly drowned Sora?" Donald asked with a non-amused glance towards the pirate.

"How is he?" Cloud asked as he glanced for the first time over at the young teen.

"I...don't know." Tifa replied, uncertainty thick in her voice.

"He was havin' some sorta nightmare and he's been like this ever since he woke up." Goofy added.

Cloud approached the bed and examined Sora. The boy kept his face buried, making it impossible to read his expression. Was what Maleficent said true? Had Sora given up all hope? Seeing how worried the others were, Cloud decided to keep these thoughts to himself. Besides, it was too soon to tell at this point.

"He's been through a lot. Give him a few days to come around. And Jack,..." Cloud glared at the pirate who was trying to slink out of the room. "If you ever do that again, I'll make you wish you had stayed behind to face Maleficent on your own."

Jack saw the deadly gaze in Cloud's eyes and resisted the urge to gulp. "Aye-aye Sir. I'll just get started on the swabbin' then, shall I?" With that he quickly left the room.

With the troublesome pirate out of the way, Cloud turned to the others. "Yen Sid's called a meeting. He wants all of us there." He looked down at Sora who had not once looked up and kept his face buried in his knees. "Merlin was hoping Sora would be able to tell us what had happened or a way to possibly defeat Maleficent-"

"It's impossible."

Everyone turned to look at Sora who had finally spoken.

"Come again?" Goofy asked.

"Maleficent can't be beaten. I tried...I gave it everything I had, but it wasn't enough." Sora's voice was muffled, but it was easy to tell he was fighting back tears.

"Alone it may be impossible, but not if we work together." Tifa replied.

"You don't get it!" Sora looked up and glared at her. "It doesn't matter if you fight her alone or with an army, she'll always win!"

"Sora! What's gotten into you?" Donald asked.

"She's..." He tried to fight back the tears of pain and regret, he tried so hard. He was fighting with every word. "She's gotten stronger and...and..."

"And what?" Donald tried not to snap, but his patience was wearing thin.

"She..." Sora's fists began to shake with pain and rage. "K-Kai..." Tears started to fall and he gave up trying to stop them.

Goofy and Donald knew the name he was trying to say and they also knew the serious problems it would mean. "What happened to Kairi?" Goofy asked as gently as he could.

"I don't know!" Sora finally shouted as tears openly flowed down his face before he buried his head in his knees once more. "Maleficent took her away and then...I heard her scream. She was in pain. I never saw her after that!"

Donald and Goofy gasped in shock. Tifa's eyes widened in surprise as she turned her gaze away, unable to bear the sight of Sora's anguish any longer.

Cloud just stood there and watched the boy for a moment. He had become used to losing people he cared for, perhaps that was partly the reason why he had a difficult time finding his light, but this was obviously something Sora wasn't used to and he was taking it hard. Cloud knew from experience that if he didn't do something soon, Sora may lose himself to the darkness.

With a nod to Tifa he stood to the side as she understood and ushered Goofy and Donald out of the room where she continued to lead them down the hall and into the meeting room, much to their protests.

Cloud waited until he was sure they were gone before he spoke. Glancing over at Sora he let out a quite, yet understanding sigh. "I know it hurts,...losing someone you care for. It's alright to grieve for them. But you can't let it consume you or you'll lose sight of everything else that's important."

"How can you understand?" Sora moaned in a flat, depressed tone. His voice cracked from crying.

"I'm a soldier." Cloud simply replied. "I've lost people I cared for. Some of them were my best friends. for the longest time I blamed myself and as a result I set up a wall between myself and everyone else. That's when the darkness began to consume me."

The sniffling sounds slowly began to stop. Cloud took this as a notion to continue.

"I let the darkness guide me for a long time. Hoping that no one else would get hurt because I wasn't there to save them. It was during one of those times that I met you. Back in the Coliseum. You had a strong light then and I told you to never lose sight of it."

Sora didn't move.

"When I said that, I meant no matter what life throws at you. You were chosen by the keyblade. It's your destiny to bring peace to the worlds. You've done a good job so far, think of all the people you met and helped until now. Many of them are downstairs right now because of you. And when we heard that you had been taken prisoner we formed a rescue plan. You'd be amazed by how many people volunteered to go to the palace to get you out."

"They should have left me." Sora replied. His eyes were still damp, but he was no loner crying. His eyes were tired and his voice was depressed as he looked out the window.

Cloud was having a hard time believing what had happened to the once cheerful teen.

"Do you not realize that Maleficent was about to kill you?" He asked.

"I wanted her to." Sora replied.

Cloud couldn't believe what he had just heard. "How can you say that?!"

He took a step forward causing Sora to lift his head and gaze up at the soldier. Cloud was furious. The look in his stone cold eyes was enough to send a shiver down Sora's spine.

"Think back to everything you've done! Every heartless and villain you've fought. I'm sure those odds were stacked against you, but you didn't waver then, why are you starting now? Just because there's no fifty foot monster in front of you doesn't mean you give up! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and think of a way to set things right!"

Sora had never seen Cloud so angry before, sure he was tough when they first met and the teen had lost to him, but even then his eyes didn't carry the intense wrath that they know held.

Down in the meeting room everyone was arguing about several topics. Mostly about how to get everyone from the worlds to a safe place.

"Why don't we load some Gummi Ships and find a new world, one that everyone can live in?" Mulan asked the group.

"Yes, thanks to that evil witch we all know the others worlds exist anyway, what difference would it make?" Jack Skellington added in.

"No!" Cried Triton, who had used his trident to turn himself human in order to travel to different worlds. "Each world has its own laws that its residents must follow! To throw them all into one place would cause nothing short of complete chaos!"

"Yeah, ol' fish boy is right." Came the voice of Phil.

"Why can't we just fight Maleficent ourselves? We beat her once." Aladdin asked.

"No! We were told before, we have to be led by a key bearer in order to challenge her in full force. Without one there's no way to restore the worlds back to the way they were." Beast growled.

"Well that's easy!" Jack Skellington replied. "Now that we have one, all we have to do is wait until he recovers and then we can put an end to this madness!"

"Hey, Tifa, how's the junior hero doing?" Phil asked the girl sitting opposite of him. She exchanged looks between Donald and Goofy, none of them wanted to reveal Sora's condition to them just yet. Not with everyone so worked up.

"He still hasn't woken up yet. I guess all that time as her prisoner really took its toll on him." She replied.

"Yeah, well hopefully he's fit and ready to go when he wakes up. Cause we got a lot of planning to do if he's gonna lead us to victory!" Phil scoffed.

Tifa only wished that Cloud was having better luck then they were. She wouldn't have to wait long as Cloud entered the room.

"What is it?" Merlin asked him.

Cloud looked around at the group and focused on those who had been part of the rescue mission.

"We have a problem."


	3. Bad Advice

_**Yeah, I wanted to apologize for last chapter's cliffhanger. ^^; It wasn't planned to end that way, but it ended up working out okay. At least I think so. **_

_**Disclaimer! Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

The Forbidden Palace had been a scene of complete chaos after the morning's events. To say Maleficent was angry was a severe understatement. She was down right enraged. Right now she directed all of that fury towards Pete.

The frightened villain had tried to run and hide somewhere, but his escape route had been cut off as she closed in on him, finally cornering him in an old broom closet, where he foolishly tried to hide behind a stack of brooms and dust pans. He was way too big to effectively conceal himself.

Maleficent fired a green blast from the end of her staff which she had just repaired using her dark magic. Pete ducked as it struck the wall directly where the big guy had stood a millisecond before, leaving a black mark on the wall. The blast also alerted someone else who heard Pete's whimpering and decided to listen in.

Maleficent could barely contain her raging green flames as they pulsated around her. "Fool! I should eliminate you right now! Your actions today destroyed the best chance we had to destroy the forces of light for good!"

She extended her arms out, causing the flames to burn more intensely. Pete tried to calm himself enough to speak, but it wasn't easy. He felt like he was staring down a viper. If he made the wrong move serpent would strike. He tried the only thing he knew had worked before. Showing her a new viewpoint. Maybe, just maybe she didn't see what he saw.

"But Maleficent, you ain't got nothin' to worry about. That kid's as good as dead."

"What are you blubbering about? Thanks to that pathetic resistance the boy will most surely recover and come back stronger than before and all that I've done will have meant nothing." She replied.

Pete smiled at this, she really hadn't seen what he did.

"That's where your wrong. See, the reason I didn't finish him off was because he had no fighting spirit. The punk looked dead on his feet. Why, he didn't even budge the whole time everyone was fighting. That guy with the bike had to carry him to safety. I think he's nothin' but a walkin' shell. Who knows, maybe now it'll be easier just to turn him into a heartless!"

Maleficent glared at Pete for a good while. Every word that came out of his mouth was useless garbage...or...maybe it wasn't. She would never admit it out loud, but he did have a point. Perhaps the empty accusation she had told the soldier held a grain of truth.

"Turn him into a heartless? That's already been tried before, somehow he managed to recover." She flatly stated.

"But, wasn't is cuz' of that girl? Now that she's outta the way there'll no one ta bring him back!" Pete replied, for once sounding very smart and sure of himself and Maleficent noticed.

"Well, it seems you have your rare moments of wisdom, very well. I shall give you one last chance to redeem yourself. Your task is to capture the key bearer and bring him here. I plan to turn him into a heartless myself, to make sure there won't be any more set backs."

Pete smiled with an evil grin. "Once he's a heartless he'll be on the front lines fighting against all his little buddies. Hahaha!"

"Stop wasting time!" Maleficent barked. "And get out of my sight!"

Pete took his chance to leave and did so very quickly. Maleficent was left alone in the small room as she listened to the sounds of the clumsy oaf grow distant. "...Perhaps today's failure can fall into my favor after all." With that she left and made her way to plan her next move.

The one who had been eavesdropping heard every word. There were some things that worried him, but one thing made him relax. Sora was alive. For the first time in weeks he had something to smile about.

"Whaddaya mean we left somebody behind?!" Phil shouted in response to Cloud's news. "We got Sora out safe! Mission accomplished!"

"Riku's still trapped there. According to Sora he was kept in a separate cell next to his." Cloud replied.

"Can't Merlin just zip in, grab the boy and zip out?" Asked the Pumpkin King.

"I-I'm afraid not," Merlin replied. "I was only able to get you out of there because Maleficent was too distracted by the confusion of the rescue. I'm afraid it'd be impossible to try it again."

"Then what do we do? We can't just leave him there." Mulan stated.

"I'm afraid there's not much we can do. We're not strong enough to get past her defenses." Triton replied.

"You know that won't stop Sora." Aladdin stated. "He'll find a way. He always does, right guys?" He looked over at Donald and Goofy. Both of them tried to look confident, but inside they knew the real condition of their friend.

"He won't help."

The whole room went silent and turned to look at Cloud. Everyone was unsure if they had heard right.

"What do you mean?" Mulan finally asked.

Cloud thought back to the last part of the conversation he had with the teen.

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><p><em>"Sora, I know you went through hell, but everyone needs you. It's the only way to save your friend and finally put an end to that witch."<em>

_"I can't." _

_"Why can't you? What happened to you?"_

_Sora didn't need to explain to him the reason he blamed himself. He didn't know what happened to Kairi, but it didn't matter. She got hurt and it was his fault. He never should have invited her to come with him. _

_"...Never again." He whispered. _

_"What?" Asked Cloud. _

_"I'll never use the Keyblade again." _

* * *

><p>The whole room was in shock. They had been counting on Sora to lead the way and dispel the darkness and return everything back to the way it should be. It never occurred to them that the darkness could get to him.<p>

Jack Skellington was the first to recover. "Oh, I'm sure everything will work out. Sora's a tough fellow, if we just give him some time to get his strength back I'm sure he'll be right as rain in no time. Then we can really give that witch a scare!"

"I hope you're right, Jack. If not then all the worlds are in big trouble." King Triton replied.

Master Yen Sid, who had so far been silent decided to voice his thoughts.

"This is indeed a grave matter. If the key bearer truly has given up then the worlds will continue to fall into darkness."

The group reflected on their own worlds. While their homes had not yet been consumed by the darkness, the heartless had invaded and were swarming in larger numbers than ever before.

King Triton's thoughts were focused on his daughter Ariel, and hoped that she was keeping the palace safe with the help of her sisters. Before leaving, he had placed a protective barrier to keep out the heartless, but it was up to the light from his children's' hearts to keep it strong. He had confidence in his youngest, as she was quite spirited and didn't give in easily.

Jack Skellington wondered about Sally and all of the other residents of his beloved town. The mayor panicked easily just worrying about normal Halloween preparations, Jack had no idea how he'd handle an army of heartless charging through. Thankfully, Dr. Finkelstein had built some defenses for the town that would at the very least slow the enemy down and Sandy Claws had agreed to offer the town's people a place to flee to if they needed to evacuate.

Mulan worried about her home and her family, but Shang assured her that they would be fine. The Emperor's palace was well guarded and Her family had been sent thereto keep them safe.

Aladdin wasn't that worried. He had told Genie to stay behind and keep his home safe, despite the big blue guy's tears that threatened to fill the room he finally agreed and promised that nothing would happen as long as he was around.

Phil wasn't worried either. He knew his star pupil was more than enough the take on any heartless that dared set foot in his arena.

Beast wondered how Belle was holding up. Before he left he had given all of the silver guard statues to keep everyone safe until he returned. It was Belle who told him they could handle themselves and after what had happened before, she had hoped that he would trust her. He did trust her, but he was also worried for her safety. In the end he agreed as long as she didn't do anything dangerous.

Scrooge was a bit concerned for his nephews, but they were strong lads and he was confident that they could handle themselves.

"We must plan our next actions carefully." Yen Sid continued. "Maleficent has no doubt began putting new plans in motion and the heartless will be even more aggressive than before now that Sora has been freed. I strongly recommend that we all take care while we seek out more allies."

"But where do we start looking?" Phil asked. "We already scanned the universe once and this is all we found." He waved his hands around the room indicating their small group. "Everyone else either high-tailed it outta there or refused."

"What about the king?" Asked Goofy.

"I am afraid he has not been seen in quite some time." Yen Sid replied.

"I wish he was here." Donald sighed. "He'd know how to help Sora."

"Yeah, just like he helped Riku." Goofy added.

Something dawned on some of the group. "You don't think?" Tifa began.

"It's worth a shot." Merlin replied.

"What?" Phil asked.

"If we can somehow sneak into the palace and get Riku out of there...maybe he could help guide Sora through his doubt." answered the wizard. "He was once lost in the darkness and was found by the king. King Mickey trained him and helped him focus on the light and as a result he was finally able to conquer the darkness in his heart."

"I still don't get it." Phil folded his arms on the table.

"For someone who's heart once resided in darkness, who better than Riku to help Sora find rediscover his light?" Yen Sid replied.

"Well what are we waiting for? Halloween?" Jack asked. "Let's hurry and think of the best people to send and form a plan!"

Back up in the guest room, Sora had tried getting some sleep. It was nice sleeping in a warm, soft bed, but he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. His previous dream still haunted him and when he closed his eyes he saw nothing but darkness and two glowing yellow eyes.

_"What a fine mess you've gotten yourself into."_

"Huh?" Sora sat up and looked around. Where did that voice come from? It sounded familiar, but where had he heard it before?

As he swept his eyes over the room again a furry purple tail swished in front of him. Sora glanced upwards to see the Cheshire Cat perched atop of his head.

"Oh my my, it seems you have a lot on your mind."

Sora glared at the cat, he was in no mood for riddles. "What do you want?"

"The real question is, what do _you_ want?" The cat replied with a smile.

"What I want is to be left alone." Sora replied in a grumpy tone as he laid back down and covered the blanket over his head.

The Cheshire Cat floated and landed on Sora's side. "Well my friend, it seems you're not being honest with yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Came a grumpy response from under the blanket.

"If you want to be alone, then why don't you leave this place? The tower is full of people and you can't truly be alone if you're surrounded by friends."

"Oh, go away already!" Sora grumbled.

"Why don't you?" The cat replied. With that he faded as if he had never been there.

Sora flipped the blanket off from his head and sat up. Despite being annoying, the cat had a good point. Staying here did nothing but bring danger to everyone. Maleficent wanted him, she wanted to finish him and while he still wasn't sure if he cared, he didn't want his friends to get hurt trying to protect him.

Making sure he was strong enough to stand, Sora got his shoes on and made sure he had everything. It was too bad he couldn't leave his keyblade behind, he thought as he peaked out of the room, but the keyblade was a part of him and always would be. But he wouldn't have to see it if he never summoned it.

"So there." He commented quietly to himself as he made his way down the hall and towards the platform where Donald's Gummi Ship (their Gummi Ship) sat stationary and ready for use. A passerby caught a glimpse of him just as he darted around the corner and out of sight.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Not much action this chapter, but we got a glimpse at the current state of the worlds. Looks like Maleficent isn't done with Sora by a long shot. What is that cat's deal? Putting ideas into Sora's head like that. Ohh~ This can't end well. u_u; <em>**


	4. Delivery Boy

_**Wow, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support. The reviews I've gotten have made me put in the effort to give you all the story you deserve and I wanted to take a moment to address some of your comments. **_

_**Drzhar - : If you liked the beginning then I hope you'll love what's waiting on the horizon. I've been doing some major brain-storming and I'm pleased to say that this story will not disappoint. **_

_**ElectroNerd - : Yes, cliffy after cliffy, I know I have a bad habit of pulling those out of my hat. I know it seems angsty now, but you never know what hte future will bring. ;)  
><strong>_

_**Little Zephyr - : I'll try to limit the cliffhangers in this story. Though, I can't make any promises. The plot may be steady, but the individual chapters have yet to be written. **_

_**MegaFlameHedge - : As Sora said, Kairi's condition is unknown. He believes her to be dead, but everything may not be as it seems. I'm glad you like the resistance members. I'm not giving much away, but the gang is not yet complete. Who they are and when they arrive is unknown, but believe me when I tell you, you will not be disappointed. That's a promise. :) I also wanted to thank you for your kind words regarding Cloud. I was a bit unsure if I had successfully captured his character and didn't want to disappoint.  
><strong>_

_**And thank you to everyone who faved and followed. I didn't think this story would make it this far, I hope you enjoy what's yet to come. **_

_**Okie Dokies, enough of the chit chat, let's get back to the story!**_

_**Disclaimer! Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. **_

_**But Cloud comes home with me...(Hey, a girl can dream right? xD )**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

After the meeting had ended the group had parted to prepare for the tasks they had bene given. Goofy and Donald had refused to take on any other task without Sora and were heading up to his room now. They didn't know what to say to their friend, but hoped that they could help him even a little, just by being there and letting him know that they had his support just as he always had since the day they met.

They turned around the corner and noticed that the door to Sora's room was slightly open. They opened it fully as they entered. Instead of Sora they saw Jack Sparrow looking out of the window.

"Jack!" Donald barked. "What are you doing in here?"

"And where's Sora?" Goofy added.

The pirate merely pointed out the window. "Looks like our faithful key bearer is flying the coop as it were."

"What?!"

Donald and Goofy rushed to the window just in time to see the Gummi Ship rise up with Sora as its sole pilot.

"Sora, don't do it!" They cried out, but their pleas went unheard as the ship took off into the sky and vanished out of sight until it twinkled like a star and was gone.

"Why didn't you stop him?!" Donald vented his anger on the pirate.

Jack shook his head and waved his finger in front of the duck's face. "If he wouldn't listen to the likes of you, 'is two best friends, what makes you think he'd listen to someone like me?"

The pirate had a point and Donald forced out a sigh in an attempt to relieve some of the stress that had built up. Goofy headed for the door. "C'mon Fellas, we gotta tell Master Yen Sid what happened."

_~*~STL~*~_

Sora really should have thought this whole thing through. He hadn't realized how hard it was to fly the Gummi Ship by yourself. It had always taken at least two people to successfully pilot. Navigation and steering alone weren't all that difficult, but doing that and manning the weapons were a completely different matter.

He had managed to avoid most of the heartless vessels, but not all of them passed him by. Some returned to follow and try to shoot him down. Sora's only chance was to outrun them. Kicking the Gummi Ship into high gear, he zigged and zagged around some massive asteroids. It was a dangerous path he chose to take, but it was his best chance to lose them.

As he got into the thick of it Sora regretted taking this path. He couldn't dodge both the heartless and the massive flying rocks that seemed drawn to his ship. The Gummi Ship had taken some major damage already and one of the two main engines was in the red. The enemy now had a clear signal to where Sora was as they followed the smoke trail like bread crumbs.

Sora looked back to fire at a heartless ship that had gotten too close, but he failed to see the massive asteroid flying straight at him. He saw too late and as he tried to turn the ship the flying boulder struck the remaining good engine and sending the ship into a downward spiral. Sora managed to crash-land on a larger, slower moving asteroid before jumping out of the ship and staring down the heartless that were closing in.

Instead of firing with their weapons, which would have easily ended his life, they got out of their ships and prepared for hand to hand combat. This convinced Sora of one thing; Maleficent wanted him captured alive. Well, he wasn't going to let her have her way. Either he defeated all of these heartless or died trying.

One of the heartless launched itself forward and Sora dodged it and rolled out of the way. Two more heartless came in closer and Sora used the only other weapon he had: Magic.

Using the power of fire he forced the heartless back and then came at them with an ice attack. He then tried something new and punched the frozen heartless as hard as he could. The creature shattered and vanished. This gave Sora a bit of hope. He didn't think he'd be able to fight the heartless effectively without his keyblade, but now it was an entirely different story.

"C'mon!" Sora challenged the heartless. The creatures looked at one another before charging in.

_~*~STL~*~_

Cloud Strife walked up the spiral staircase that led to Master Yen Sid's chamber. His face showing no expression, but behind his calm features he was slightly annoyed.

He reached the door and knocked once.

"Enter."

Cloud made his way inside and closed the door behind him. "What did you want? I was about to search for more recruits."

Yen Sid sat at his desk and shook his head. "Have you heard about what happened?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, Tifa told me. Sora ran away."

"Then you know what will happen if he's not found." Yen Sid replied.

"Yeah, but I don't see what it has to do with me. I already did my part." Cloud replied.

Yen Sid stood up and approached the warrior. "Riku was not the only person who once dwelled in darkness. Whether he has made it obvious or not, Sora has great respect for you."

"How do you figure that?" Cloud asked. He barely knew the kid. True he knew about Sora's past and everything he had done to save the worlds from the Heartless and the nobodies, he also had seen what the kid could do in battle first hand, both as his opponent and fighting alongside him in the battle that took place in Hollow Bastion. But he was still a far cry from calling himself his friend.

Yen Sid allowed a small smile to appear on his old features. "Because he opened up to you and not to his closest friends. Donald and Goofy are very close to him and yet he chose to share his fears to you. That means something whether you choose to believe it or not."

Cloud blinked in thought for a moment. "...So, you want me to go and find him, is that what you're getting at?"

"Yes." The great wizard replied.

"What if he won't come back?" Cloud asked as he looked the master in the eye.

"I never said anything about bringing him back. Whether he realizes it or not, Sora has set out on his biggest adventure yet, however he cannot win this battle on his own. There are still friends in the shadows of space and they will make a difference, but Sora needs a strong voice of reason. Someone who has walked that path before and reached the other side. As I've said before, you were also almost lost to the darkness. It is time for you to help Sora find his way back to the light."

"Hmph." Cloud turned to leave, his response seemed like a refusal at first, but as he opened the door he stopped. "I make no promises." He said as he left, closing the door behind him.

_~*~STL~*~_

Sora had been forced into a corner. His back was against a rocky wall as he held his shoulder in pain from where a shadow had attacked him with its claws. The teen cursed himself for being so out of practice with his magic. To make things worse, he still wasn't fully recovered from being held captive for so long. There was no way he was going to escape this fight and he knew it.

In one last effort Sora gathered the last of his energy for a thunder attack. It struck down some of the heartless, but not enough. Nine still remained. They weren't very strong heartless, but they were more than a match for Sora in his weakened state. He tried one last attack, but couldn't gather enough magic. He tried to dodge the attack as a shadow heartless pounced.

He wasn't quick enough and was struck in the back. The creature had barely missed his heart. "No!" Sora shouted as he fell. Memories of before flooded back to him. Lost in darkness, his name and memories fading. It was about to happen again and this time, he wouldn't be coming back.

He fell to the ground, too injured and out of energy to get back up. The heartless sensed their prey was defenseless and closed in for the final blow. Sora saw them coming, but there was nothing he could do.

What was this? He thought he didn't care if the darkness took him. Maybe he should accept his fate. Giving up would be so easy. He was ready. He wanted the shadows to take him. However, the heartless weren't attacking him anymore. Sora tried to see why, but his vision had become blurry and he was losing consciousness. The last thing he remembered hearing were three words that sounded familiar...

"Dance, Water! Dance!"

_~*~STL~*~_

Cloud was sitting on his motorcycle in the front yard of Yen Sid's house. His eyes were closed as his grip on the handle bars tightened. "Forget it, you're not coming with me!"

Donald and Goofy were standing in front of the bike, stopping Cloud from leaving.

"Sora's our pal! We're not gonna let him fight this battle alone!" Goofy told him.

"Yeah, we're in this together!" Donald replied.

"This is a solo mission. I'm going alone." Cloud replied. His tone was calm, but it was strained.

"Sorry Cloud, but we can't let you go by yourself. Even you would have trouble fighting the heartle-." Donald was cut short as the tip of Cloud's sword was barely an inch away from his beak.

"Let 'em try." Was Cloud's response. His eyes were cold and focused.

Merlin approached the trio. "Oh, Cloud! I'm glad I caught you before you left. Master Yen Sid wanted you to take this and give it to Sora when you find him." He handed the warrior a box wrapped in a string.

"Seems like the life of a delivery boy is never done." Cloud replied.

Merlin turned to Donald and Goofy next. "Yen Sid also has an important task for you two as well."

"Forget it! We're going with Cloud!" Donald argued.

"Listen to me," Merlin pleaded. "Cloud will find Sora and bring him back safely, in the meantime him will need an army to help him defeat Maleficent. We need your help to find more brave souls willing to challenge her evil. As the only ones who have traveled with Sora it's up to you two to find those brave enough to accept the call."

Donald and Goofy sighed before admitting defeat and nodding in acknowledgement. "You will find Sora, won't you?" Goofy asked Cloud, his voice full of concern for his friend.

"Count on it." He replied.

This seemed to satisfy the two and they finally moved out of the way and watched Cloud leave. A glowing blue path opened up that resembled a small road just big enough for his bike to travel on. The motorcycle revved to life and Cloud set out on his mission.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Oh Spellcheck, why do you hate me so?<em>**


	5. Intruders and Snivlers

_**I wasn't really happy with the last chapter. It felt too rushed in my opinion. So, from now on I'll try to space it out a bit more, and I may come back and add on to Chapter Four. I already plan to give each chapter a proper name once I get further along. **_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

The Forbidden Palace stood tall, silent and ominous, like a sleeping giant that no one wanted to wake. A team of three had been picked to go on the rescue mission to get Riku out of that horrible place. Jack Skellington who despite his height could blend in well was well versed in both physical attacks and was good with fire magic. Aladdin who was accompanied by his friend, Abu who rode on his shoulder. They were good at sneaking around and could slip past most defenses unnoticed. The third was Mulan who had proven to be very good at strategizing and thinking on her feet.

The fourth member was forced to wait behind. Jack Sparrow was to keep the Black Pearl hidden and ready for the others when they came back, most likely under attack. The pirate captain sulked over how unfair it was. He had offered the use of his vessel and only asked to liberate the castle of it's most valuable trinkets while the others saw the boy's escape. However his noble actions had been taken as selfish and cowardly. As a result he was forbidden from setting one foot outside of the ship. He headed into his cabin and pulled out a bottle containing his favorite drink. He popped the cork took a swig. After swallowing he looked back out towards the palace. "...Bugger." Down went another swig.

Mulan, Aladdin and the Pumpkin King snuck along the outer walls on the palace, being careful not to alert any of the guards of their presence.

"According to Goofy, the main gates are usually protected by a powerful barrier." Mulan told the others.

"Then how are we suppose to get in? I'm pretty sure we can't scale the walls, not without getting caught." Aladdin replied.

"Fear not Friends, where there's a will there's a way. We'll get in." Jack tried to assure the rest of his team. "Don't forget, we owe Sora for helping us. The least we can do is make sure his friend is safe."

"We know Jack. We all would have lost our worlds if Sora hadn't been there." Aladdin replied.

"Quiet!" Mulan urged in a hushed whisper as a Neo soldier heartless scanned the area just around the corner of the outer wall.

"This side is too well guarded. We need another way in." She said quietly before nodding for the others to back track while she kept watch from behind.

As they made their way along the rear of the castle wall, Jack waved over to the others with his famous skeleton grin. "Over here, look at this!" He called in a loud whisper.

The others gathered to see what the Halloween king had found and discovered a small door. Mulan turned the handle, but it was locked as she had expected. "We need to find another way in." she replied.

"No need." Came Aladdin's reply. "Why do you think I brought Abu along?"

The monkey took his cue and sat on Aladdin's shoulder looking into his vest pockets and pulling out a set of lock picks. Finding the one he was looking for he squeaked and chattered to Aladdin to bring him up to the door's handle which his friend obliged.

It was all the matter of a few easy turns before the group heard a small click and Abu pushed the door open. "See? Who needs a keyblade when you've got a locksmith like Abu?" Aladdin complimented his friend as they made their way inside, keeping close to the wall as they made their way towards the palace.

~*~STL~*~

In one of the upper floors of the castle a corridor of darkness opened up and a soaking wet Pete fell through. With his stomach on the ground, he lay there for a moment to catch his breath. The carpet soaking wet around him as water dripped from his outfit. Something squirming in his pocket startled him and he pulled out a fish. It glared at him before spitting water into his face and slapping him silly with its tail fin before leaping back through the portal before it vanished.

"D'oh, that's the last time I go 'Under Da Sea'! Man, those girls sure knew how to fight, 'specially that liddle red-head."

He stood up straight and looked around the room. For once he allowed himself a relieved sigh. Luck was shining on him tonight as he ended up in his own room. He could go to sleep right now and no one would be the wiser, especially Maleficent who had been running him ragged ever since he messed it up with the key bearer.

He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. "Pete," He said to himself. "You look dog tired, why don't ya take the night off? Get a good night's sleep and start fresh in the mornin'." With a chuckle to himself to got ready for bed.

Once he was all set; showered, teeth brushed, pajamas on, he pulled up the covers to climb into bed. He had just snuggled with his liddle shadow heartless plushie when a screech from down below woke him combined with the familiar sound of a heartless being defeated.

With a lazy groan, Pete made his way to the window. "What's goin' on? Can't a guy get any sleep 'round here?"

He looked down at the open courtyard, nothing. He scanned the outer lawns, nothing. He scanned the docks nearby, and saw a pirate ship with black sails.

Pete grumbled as he made his way back to his bed, seeing nothing out there except, "A ship with black sails?!"

He rushed back to the window and sure enough the ship was there, floating as if by magic. And to make things worse, it was a ship he recognized. "Well if it ain't the Black Pearl!" He took another glance around the yard and saw that one of the doors was hanging slightly open. Someone had invaded the castle!

Knowing that there were only two reasons one of the good guys would break into the palace Pete darted off to find Maleficent.

_~*~STL~*~_

Mulan and the others had made it inside of the palace. It was harder inside as more heartless paraded around, but not as sentries. Some of them were carrying mops and brooms. Obviously the new maintenance crew since the normal enchanted broomsticks were locked away in the closets. Or maybe not. One of them was struggling against a normal soldier heartless as it swept along the corridor; its hands tied tightly around its sides to keep it from flailing about.

This gave China's bravest woman an idea. "Let's free that broom. Maybe it can lead us to where they're keeping Riku."

The others nodded in agreement.

"I just hope our friend here can keep calm this time." Jack replied as he looked towards Abu. The monkey shrugged with a sheepish grin. After finding a door to the inside Abu had managed to pick the lock on it as well. It opened just as a heartless soldier made its way out. The monkey had been startled and screeched before Aladdin clamped a hand over his friend's mouth while Mulan took care of the soldier.

The group waited for the soldier to get closer before they struck. The heartless kept sweeping away, if he had a mouth, he most likely would have been whistling as he seemed to be carrying about his task in a cheerful way. As it made to turn the corner, looking down it didn't notice the skeleton hands creep over its head before they plucked the heartless and pulled it around the corner only for a swooshing sound to be heard and a small dark cloud appeared before the soldier was no more.

A few minutes later, Jack was keeping watch as Mulan freed the broom. It thanked her by hugging her and picked up a nearby mop bucket, something to give it comfort like a child who would hug its teddy bear.

Speaking of teddy bears, Pete's little plushie had been shoved into his pajama's pocket as he rushed to find the evil witch. "Maleficent!" He called, checking each hallway and corridor. He reached the end of the hall and turned.

there was a crash and a thud as Pete came face to face with Maleficent. She had heard the commotion from her personal chamber and came to see what the fool had messed up this time when he crashed into a statue and landed right at her feet.

"What is your problem this time you miserable oaf?" She sneered. It was then that she noticed his attire. Her eyes peeled back into slits. Was he actually sleeping instead of searching for the key bearer?!

Pete stood up and urged her to listen. "Maleficent! Ya gotta do somethin' there's intruders in the palace!"

Everything tumbled out of his mouth as he related his report to her. While she did listen she didn't seem convinced. She waited for him to finish before speaking up.

"A floating ship, the Black Pearl you say?"

Pete nodded.

"And you also say you heard a girly screech?"

Again Pete nodded.

"Fool!" She slammed the end of her staff down on the floor hard, causing an echo to carry down the hall. "I have no time for childish nightmares! The Black Pearl cannot fly and the only one I would expect to scream like a girl would be you!"

"But," Pete protested, "It wasn't a nightmare! It's real I tell ya! Just look out the south wall! It's there! It wasn't somethin' I would make up!"

As if on cue, Pete's plushie fell out of his pocket and landed on the ground with a tiny squeak.

Maleficent glanced at the toy before looking back at Pete while raising one eye brow. Her expression seemed to read: "Thus proving my point."

"Get out of my sight." She ordered. Her voice was low and it scared Pete more than her shouting. With his ears laid flat he backed up slowly before turning and running back down the hall from whence he came. The witch sighed in frustration before returning to her chambers for the night. It was never easy ruling over a kingdom full or complete idiots.

On the other end of the hall, Mulan, Jack and Aladdin had to suppress a fit of laughter. The scene was so comical they almost felt sorry for the big guy,...almost.

Once they were sure the coast was clear they made their way down the hall, following after the broomstick as it led them towards the cellars.

_~*~STL~*~_

The black motorcycle road along the blue light that resembled a road through the passage between worlds. The space around Cloud reminded him of a location in his own world. The forest of dead trees that emitted a white glow. That place had long since been destroyed, but the rider couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.

There wasn't a heartless to be seen and the path ahead seemed harmless enough. He guessed the heartless were too busy taking over innocent worlds and trying to find the key bearer to worry about one lone rider. Realizing what that meant it told him that he wouldn't find Sora around here. He put in an extra boost of speed and kept traveling along the road that the bike itself had created.

What Cloud didn't see was a single black feather that floated from somewhere above and came to rest on the path.

_~*~STL~*~_

Riku sat in the corner of his cell, looking out of the only source of light he had. A small crack in the wall that revealed moonlight. It was the only reason he had been able to keep track of how long he had been held prisoner. On the wall next to him were several marks scratched into the stone. It had been two days since Sora had bene taken away and while he had hoped to be rescued as well, he knew that the chances of his escape were slim. He had no magic and no energy left to fight. On top of that the heartless were no longer sending food down to him. Food was a loose term for the slop he had been given, but it still kept him alive. Now without the key bearer as prisoner he wondered if he'd be forgotten and left to rot.

He was just thankful that his friend was free and had a chance to fight back. An image of the defeated Sora flashed in his mind. It was a sight Riku never thought he'd see. Sure he had seen Sora take some hits before, but the fighting spirit in his eyes was always there. As the heartless carried him away, Riku didn't see that light there anymore. He only prayed that Sora hadn't seen what he had the night where everything had gone so wrong.

Out of anger, Riku punched the wall next to him. Then suddenly a bright light forced him to shield his eyes. This was followed by darkness. Riku turned his gaze towards it and blinked in surprise. Could it really be a corridor of darkness? Had he summoned it? That was impossible, he had let go of all his dark powers when that device of Ansem's reverted him back to normal.

His mind's question were silenced when a hand reached out from the darkness, seeking his. "This way." Called a female voice. Riku recognized it and gladly accepted her hand. He stepped into the darkness and the corridor closed behind him.

* * *

><p><strong><em>lol, Poor Pete, he just can't catch a break can he? xD<em>**


	6. Pride

**_Well, here's chapter six written both sooner and longer than expected. I'm happy with both results. :) _**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

Far away from the evil of the Forbidden Palace and even farther from the Base of the Resistance, in the middle of an open grassland two familiar figures appeared in a flash of white light...or, at least they resembled familiar figures.

Donald and Goofy looked around at their surroundings before noticing each other. Goofy had been somehow transformed into a land turtle who carried his shield on top of his rock-hard shell and Donald was now a type of bird who could fly and carried his mage's staff in his talons.

"We must be back in the Pride Lands." Goofy stated. Donald nodded in agreement before they really got a good look around. "It sure doesn't look like the Pride Lands. It's so green." The feathered mage replied.

"Do you think we arrived in the jungle?" Goofy asked.

A sudden rustling in the brush caused them to turn. The tall grass shuffled a bit before a shadow pounced out of the grass. They both noticed the shape of a feline, about the size of a cub. If they really were in the Pride Lands, there was only one 'cub' it could be.

With big smiles Goofy and Donald pounced at the cub before it had its chance, which surprised it.

"Sora!"

They both yelled at once knocking the cub to the ground. However, instead of hugging and laughing, the cub in question let out a sound liked was between a roar and a startled meow.

"Wh-what are you doing? You guys don't play right! I'm suppose to pounce you!"

The two looked down to see a lion cub whose fur was much lighter than Sora's was. There was no tuff of fur resembling the familiar spiky hair and the necklace was missing, but there was one other thing that made the difference complete. This lion cub was a girl.

Goofy and Donald backed up and let the little cub sit up. "Gawrsh, sorry about that, we thought you were someone else."

She didn't seem angry about it and she licked her paw and rubbed it over her face. "It's fine." She replied with a smile. "You say you thought I was someone else? Another cub?"

The two nodded their heads.

"That's great! Maybe I'm not the only cub around here after all!" She seemed to be very energetic and her cheerful attitude further reminded them of Sora.

"We shoulda known it'd be too easy finding him out here." Donald told his friend.

"Yeah, but at least we can check on Simba and see how he's doin'." Goofy replied.

"You know him?" The lion cub asked.

"Yeah, we're good friends." Donald replied.

"Well, why don't I take you to him? C'mon, this way!" She said darting off into the tall grass. Goofy and Donald followed behind her.

"My name's Kiara by the way." She called as she slowed to let them run alongside her.

"Name's Goofy and this is Donald." The turtle replied.

_~*~STL~*~_

Darkness...that's all there was. No light, no sound, nothing. He was drifting. It felt just like that last time. Just as the shadows began to close in around his heart there was a glimmer of light. It was warm and he wanted to reach for it.

"Sora!" called a female voice. One he knew.

"...Kairi?"

He looked towards the light and smiled. She was still there! But, so were the glowing yellow eyes. Before he could reach the light a large mouth opened up and chomped down on it, snuffing it out.

"Kairi!"

Sora woke with a jolt. His hand shot up and clutched his chest. With a relieved sigh he realized that he hadn't lost his heart. Now the only question was how? He knew that he had been outnumbered. He had no strength and no magic. How did he survive, and where was he now? This wasn't the Gummi Ship.

He looked up and saw the symbol of the ship. "Nuh-Nobodies? But how-?" He went silent as he heard a voice approaching from behind a closed door.

"Demyx do this, Demyx do that, Demyx go save the kid, Demyx go grab a spare jacket. Sheesh! If I had known I was going to be his personal servant I wouldn't have tagged along. Boy did he pick the wrong guy."

The door slid open and sure enough, there was Demyx. His eyes were closed as he shook his head in defeat before he looked up and blinked in surprise.

"Oh, so you're awake huh? 'Bout time. The boss was getting a bit worried."

Sora just continued to glare at the nobody.

"What?" Demyx asked before it clicked and he realized why. "Ohh~ Right. Hey, don't give me that look. If I was still mad about what happened in Hollow Bastion I would have let the heartless get ya. Don't worry, I don't hold a grudge. Xemnas was a jerk and deserved what he got."

Sora wasn't entirely convinced, but the nobody did have a point and he was willing to hear him out. "Okay, so why did you save me?"

Demyx shrugged. "Maybe I better let the boss answer that one. Here."

The nobody tossed Sora a black jacket. The very mark of a member of Organization XIII. The glare returned to Sora's face as he looked between the jacket and Demyx.

"I'm not a nobody."

"Oh would you relax already? It's just a change of clothes! We're not trying to bring Roxas back, though he may be more helpful at this point if you're just gonna go and get yourself killed by the heartless."

Demyx gave a frustrated sigh before heading out of the room. "Do whatever you want, but when you're done moping, the boss wants a word with you. You should at least thank him for saving your life, ...again!"

With that the nobody left, leaving Sora alone to his thoughts. He stared at the jacket for a moment before looking down at his own outfit. He was still wearing the same torn clothes that had suffered the beating from the Forbidden Palace. Any magic they contained had long since vanished. Sora picked up the jacket and looked it over.

Up on the bridge of the ship, the 'boss' concentrated of flying his way out of the Asteroid Field. It was slow going as he tried avoiding the large rocks and keeping out of sight from any passing heartless vessel.

He was alerted to the sliding door as Demyx entered. "Jeez, are you sure that's the same kid?"

"What do you mean?" The hooded man asked, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I dunno," Demyx replied. "He's just not the same guy that we fought. He totally stomped me flat before, but now I could knock him down with hardly any effort."

"Something must have happened. Something that he hasn't gotten over yet. Give him time. If Roxas is still in there, he'll whip Sora back into shape sooner or later."

"Would you stop it!"

Both nobodies turned to see Sora near the door which had just closed. He stood there wearing the black jacket that Demyx had given him had only caught the tail end of their conversation. "I won't deny that Roxas is my nobody, but I'm Sora. I'm not anybody else."

The boss stood up and pointed a finger at him. "Then prove you're Sora."

"Prove it? Can't you see through that hood?" The teen retorted.

"Is that really how you're gonna thank me after saving you?"

"Who's to say I wanted to be saved?"

Demyx blinked as he shifted his gaze between the two, not sure exactly what to say. Finally the hooded man gave in with a sigh and lowered his hood, revealing the spiky red hair.

"Alright. Tell me what happened."

Sora blinked in shock. It was Axel!

_~*~STL~*~_

Kiara led Goofy and Donald through a flourishing landscape. The trees were healthy and strong, the grass was thick and tall and the river provided fresh, clean water for all of the animal life that seemed to fill the land.

"Wow, this place has changed a lot!" Donald commented as they neared Pride Rock.

"Really? It's always looked like this to me." the lion cub replied as she jumped from rock to rock. "Careful around here, snakes like to curl on the rocks up here during the day." She warned as she continued to hop from one rock to the next.

Donald flew a bit higher as a result and Goofy gulped before stepping more carefully.

After making it through the snake rocks they only had an open field to go. As Kiara made to jump into the grass another figure leaped out.

"Kiara! There you are!"

The lioness gasped and jumped back, bumping into Goofy.

"Princess! Where have you been?" Asked another voice as a warthog and meerkat stood before the trio.

"Timon! Pumba!" Donald called from above.

"Well if it isn't our pals from the old days. How's it goin'?" Asked the meerkat.

"You know them?" Kiara asked.

"Yeah, their good buddies of your dad's." Timon answered with a grin.

"Your dad?" Donald asked in surprise.

"I bet you're King Simba's daughter aren't ya?" Goofy asked with a grin.

"Yeah, but I don't really like being called a princess though." She replied.

"Hey! Where's Sora?" Pumba asked.

"We need to see Simba." Donald told them.

Over at Pride Rock the lion pride was enjoying the early noon sun. Their stomachs were full and everyone was finally happy. The new king was doing his job well. Simba looked down at his lands from his place at the edge of the cliff that jutted out from the mountain. From the vantage point it was easy for him to spot his daughter returning home with Timon and Pumba and,...two of his other friends! With a smile and a mighty leap he raced down the slope to greet them.

"Donald! Goofy!" He called in a friendly greeting. Looking at the group he noticed someone was missing. "Where's Sora?"

"He's uh...um..." Donald tried to find the best way to put it.

"He's on another mission." Goofy replied.

"Oh, well anyway, it's good to see you guys again. I see you've met my daughter."

"Hi daddy." She replied in response.

He nuzzled into her and let out what sounded like a gentle purr before looking back up at them. "What brings you guys all the way out here?"

"We were hoping you could help us." Goofy began.

_. . ._

"I see. So, Maleficent's back and she's trying to take over all of the worlds again." Simba summed it up.

"Yeah, and the worlds are teeming with heartless." Donald added.

"There haven't been any around here, but just to be safe,..." Simba turned toward a group of lionesses and roared to them. They roared in reply and four of them headed out.

"They're going to go scout the land for any strange creatures. In the meantime," He looked down at his daughter. "I want you to stay here until we know it's safe. Those creatures are dangerous."

The little cub let out a sigh before nodding. "Okay dad." Her ears perked up when she saw her mother, Nala in the distance and ran off to greet her.

Simba turned to Goofy and Donald once she was out of earshot. "I'll be ready when you're king needs me. Just tell him to use this."

Simba lowered his head and shook his mane. A necklace fell from his fur and Donald picked it up. It was his old summon charm, the one that Sora had used on his first adventure when they had first met.

"Thanks Simba." Said Donald.

"I'd go with you now, but with the heartless on the loose..." Simba started, drifting off as he looked at his mate and daughter playing.

"You don't want to leave your family unprotected, we understand." Goofy replied with a smile.

"Thanks, but make no mistake..." Simba stood tall, looking down on them with all of the grace and nobility of a true king. "When the time comes, I'll be there."

Goofy and Donald saw him glowing with power and pride and knew he spoke the truth.

"Thank you Simba. Until then, take care!" Donald replied as they knew it was time for them to leave. They waited until they had gotten a fair distance from Pride Rock before they pulled out the Star Shards that Master Yen Sid had given them before setting out. In a blinding flash they were gone.

_~*~STL~*~_

"Well, that explains a lot." Axel sat in the pilot's chair with his arms folded while Demyx just stared wide-eyed at the kid.

"Jeez! And I thought she was evil before. Man! What a hag!"

"So, what about you guys? I thought you were gone." Sora asked them.

A smile spread across Axel's features. "It's all thanks to you actually. At least the good part of the story. When you released Kingdom Hearts we not only got our bodies back, but our hearts as well."

"Yeah, we finally became real people again." Demyx interrupted, but fell silent again when Axel glared at him.

"So all of the nobodies got their hearts back?" Sora asked. Surprised how awesome that had worked out.

"Yep." Axel nodded. "That is until Maleficent came back and attacked with her heartless. Our hearts were taken from us again, but instead of giving into the darkness we became nobodies again. The two of us bumped into each other and figured it was better to travel together then get struck down by heartless or someone else who thought we might be up to no good again."

"What are you guys doing?" Sora couldn't help but ask.

"If you think we're trying to rejoin the Organization again then you're wrong. Xemnas is gone and I for one am happy. That punk got what he deserved for using us like that."

"I know!" Demyx chimed in. "Telling us we had no hearts or feelings. What a joke!"

"So, you're really not trying to turn me into a heartless to get Roxas back?"

Axel chuckled at the key bearer's question. "Oh please. Not that I don't miss Roxas, but if we wanted that-"

"You would have let the heartless get me." Sora finished.

"Exactly, got it memorized now?" He asked.

Demyx smirked over at the kid. "The jacket looks good on you."

"It's not permanent." Sora replied with a glare.

"But it will help keep the heartless off your tail. Ya see, Maleficent doesn't know we're still around. You'd be better off with us anyway. At least until your king and his army arrives."

"Until what?" Sora blinked.

"Dude where have you been? Under a rock?!" Demyx asked. "The king's been gathering an army for the past month now."

Sora looked down at the ground.

"You mean you didn't know?" Axel asked.

"No, I was stuck in the castle's dungeon the whole time."

"Well, yeah but, I didn't think you were completely in the dark about what was happening on the outside!" Axel was a bit surprised that Mickey's best fighter really had no idea. No wonder the kid thought everything was hopeless.

The ship suddenly lurched to the side as a missile struck it on its wing. Demyx looked on the screen. "Heartless! They found us!"

Axel smirked. "Buckle up kiddies, things are about to get squirrely." With that he sent the ship into a downward spiral to avoid another hit from the Heartless that seemed to surround them.

_~*~STL~*~_

Mulan and the others had done a pretty good job of sneaking around unseen. Thanks to Aladdin's skills and the Broom's knowledge of the way around the castle they arrived at the entrance to the cells fairly quickly.

"Thanks little fellow, we wouldn't have found it without your help!' Jack Skellington told the castle servant who saluted them and carried on its way.

"Okay guys, let's get Riku and get out of here." Aladdin said as Abu worked his magic and the locked had successfully been picked. The three made their way down, leaving the door open.

The broom made its way along from where it had come from, seeking out its companions and setting things right, but someone else was coming from the opposite direction.

Pete sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand as he pouted. "D'at mean ol' Maleficent. She never believes me. Why can't she see that I'm trying my hardest. Ain't that enough?"

He turned the corner and tripped over the broom. "Hey! Watch where yer goin'!" He looked on in surprise to see one of the brooms free. "How'd you get out?" Realization dawned on him when he noticed the direction the broom had come from. And he knew right then that he had been right all along.

Taking a look back, he thought about telling Maleficent. "But she'd only yell at me again...Ah who needs 'er! I'll catch those punks on my own and prove I'm not just some bumbling oaf!"

He looked down at the broom who appeared to be...laughing?! "Oh, a wise guy 'ey? Well laugh at this!"

_. . ._

The trio looked all around the cells and couldn't find a single soul. They did however find two cells sitting side by side. They peered into each one.

"Say, what are those marks on the wall?" Jack asked as curiosity got the better of him.

"That's how prisoners keep track of the days. They take a rock or something and scratch a mark into the wall." Aladdin replied.

"At least that one has light coming through. Look at this cell." Mulan called to them. They joined her and observed the darkness of the cell. It was almost too dark, unnatural even.

"There's dark magic in there." Jack stated.

"How can you tell?" Mulan asked.

"Master of Halloween remember?" He simply replied. "I know all about dark magic and items of terror and I can tell you something very bad happened in that cell."

"I wonder if that was the cell Maleficent held Sora in." Aladdin wondered.

"That would certainly explain his current state. I bet some of that evil is still haunting him." Jack answered.

A loud snap startled the group and as they made their way back to the staircase they saw a broken broom clatter down to the floor. It had been broken into several pieces and the three looked on in horror as they recognized it as the same broom that had helped them moments before.

Pete looked down at them and chuckled. "They just don't make 'em like they used to!"

His laughter was cut short as a fireball struck him in the face. Jack leaped over the fallen Pete as the other two followed close behind. Pete recovered and whistled. Several heartless appeared.

"Get Them!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Seems our heroes are always getting into trouble. Isn't it about time they had some good luck?<em>**


	7. Eye of the Storm

_**You know the worst part about writing a story? Is when you can't find a quiet spot to write. All day I had tried to sit and write, but this house has been way to active today. I blame it on the warm weather. It's been cold and icky for so long that everyone's got a lot of energy with the nice few days we've had. **_

_**Disclaimer! I would love to say I owned Kingdom Hearts, but I don't. It along with all related characters belongs to Disney and Square Enix. **_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

Maleficent had been unable to rest now that Pete had pulled his foolish stunt. Now she simply sat in her throne, contemplating the demise of the king and that sorry excuse of a resistance. Pathetic rabble. It was only a matter of time before she learned of the location of their base. Once she knew where it was she would crush them all swiftly and painfully. And if the key bearer and the king hadn't been turned into a heartless first then they would be forced to watch as their friends fell one by one...then again, if Sora had become a heartless first then she would order him to be the one to finish them off. Yes, they would be wiped out by the very hero they had hoped would save them.

The more she thought about it, the bigger her evil grin grew. But it turned to a frown when she heard a familiar humming sound and the Cheshire Cat appeared.

"Greetings your evilness." He bowed.

Maleficent stared at the cat with an annoyed expression. "Where have you been?" she asked.

"Where have any of us been?" He replied in his usual riddle speech. But, for once he decided to throw her a bone. "Oh~ I've been around."

Maleficent tilted her head slightly. "And what have you to report."

The Cheshire Cat's large grin grew wider. "Many things." She listened in as he reported, but soon became annoyed when he spoke in riddles.

_"With mice that fly and children that hide, it's not easy to find what you seek. _

_Through space of stone, to unlock thy throne, the key has fallen deep. _

_Search for fire red atop of head and water of a musical party,_

_To find the key to thy victory who knows where, but nobody."_

With that the cat vanished without uttering another word, leaving the witch to figure out his riddles. Despite her vast knowledge and mastery of the dark arts Maleficent was not good at solving riddles.

A distant commotion told her she wouldn't get a chance to try solving this one anytime soon.

_~*~STL~*~_

A corridor of darkness opened up and Riku took one step forward out of the shadows. It was a strange sight that greeted him. He was on the deck of a ship. He looked around for the girl, but the portal closed behind him and the girl never emerged with him.

Riku knew he couldn't do anything about that now. His only option was to see where he was, then he could get a better understanding of his situa-...he stopped and closed his eyes as a gust of wind blew around him. It had been so long since he had felt the wind. It was a comforting feeling, knowing he was finally free.

A sudden clanking sound of glass pulled him back to the world around him. He snuck up along the side of the deck and listened in to the man who was moving about his cabin.

"Why is the rum always gone?" His words were slurred, as if he had consumed one too many. A glass bottle fell and shattered to the ground and the man spoke up again. "Oh, that's why."

Riku didn't know if this man was friend or foe and looked around for anything he could use in case he was the latter. It was then that he heard a small explosion coming from somewhere over the rail of the ship.

Hurrying over to the rail Riku realized where he was. He was at the docks near the Forbidden Palace! And there was something going on in the courtyard. Without worrying about the man drunk in his cabin, Riku hurried over and hoisted the anchor. Once the ship was free he began to steer it over towards the castle, secretly glad it could fly, even if it wasn't Captain Hook's pirate ship.

_. . ._

Jack, Mulan and Aladdin were now having an easy time getting out. Every new hall brought more heartless. Soon there was at least three score after them and not just simple shadows or soldiers. Several Gargoyles, and a few large bodies, some of which were breathing fire!

Without the broom to help them navigate they were trusting everything to luck and praying they wouldn't come upon a dead end. Mulan cut down two heartless as they rounded a corner while Jack focused on countering the oncoming fire with his own. The flames collided and burst on impact creating more explosions. The Pumpkin King used this to his advantage and timed it right so that the explosions would also take out some of their pursuers.

Aladdin took the lead with Abu running a little ways ahead, darting between heartless and scanning every new path for a way out. More heartless appeared from under their feet as they ran as if their very foot steps were summoning them.

"There's too many!" Aladdin shouted as he struck another soldier with his sword. Mulan was right behind him, pulling Abu to safety from the soldier who had appeared in the defeated one's place.

Their luck soon ran out when they came across the sight they had been dreading. A dead end. There was one glimmer of hope. The dead end had a window.

Mulan looked out the window and noticed a large vine with thorns digging into the structure. It looked strong enough for them to descend.

"Star climbing!" Jack told the others. "I'll hold them back!"

"We're not leaving without you!" Mulan replied.

The famous skeleton grin appeared on Jack's face. "I hope not. I'm just going to buy us some time to give you a head start! I'll be down in a jiffy!"

Jack turned and smiled at the heartless. "Besides, you can't kill a skeleton. I'm already dead!"

A fire began to swirl around the pumpkin king's arms. "And since I am dead..." he began laughing with a chattering cackle as the flames traveled along his arms to his hands as he raised them up in the air like the branches of a creepy old tree. "...I can take off my head!"

With that he pulled his head right off from his neck and channeled the flames around his skull and threw it at the heartless. His mouth opened and out came a powerful wall of fire that incinerated anything and everything it made contact with.

Aladdin and Mulan were halfway down the vine when a flaming pumpkin king jumped from the window and landed in the small fountain below. They sped up their efforts and rushed to the fountain once they were safely on the ground.

Jack emerged from the water and brushed off his shoulder.

"Are you alright!?" Mulan asked him, stunned by his actions.

"Never better!" Came his cheerful reply.

"Guys, we got company!" Aladdin pointed to the heartless that were pouring from the main doors with Pete urging them on.

_. . ._

In a very short time Jack, Mulan and Aladdin had been cornered in the castle's lawn. They could see the small gate from where they had entered from, but there was no way of getting to it now. Pete really knew which heartless to call this time. Four large bodies, seven gargoyles and various soldier and shadow heartless. The team was tired and had run out of potions. Even Jack had used the last of his magical abilities with that last attack.

"Hehe, just wait 'til Maleficent gets ahold of you three. Why, you'd be wishin' you had stayed in yer little hide away instead of coming back here." Pete told them. "You might as well save yourselves the trouble and tell me where the resistance base is now."

"And hand over our friends on a silver platter? No thanks!" Jack replied.

"Yeah! You must be pretty desperate to impress her after she caught you with a stuffed dolly." Aladdin taunted.

This made the group smirk and even earned a chuckle and some sneers from the surrounding heartless. Pete growled in response.

"That does it! I was gonna go easy on ya, but not after that! No way! Heartless!" He pointed at the three. "Take 'em out-huh?!"

He looked up at as a shadow had cast itself over the group from above. With his hand still pointing at the trio Pete looked up and saw the Black Pearl hovering above them.

"Way to go Sparrow!" Aladdin shouted.

"Guess it was a good idea he came along after all!" Mulan and Jack agreed.

A rope ladder unfurled itself as it came to a stop in front of Abu. The moment the monkey jumped onto the ladder Pete snapped out of his shock.

"Well don't just stand there! Don't let 'em get away!"

The heartless all attacked at once. The group couldn't climb the ropes and fight them off at the same time. Pete saw this and chuckled gleefully. His victory was only moments away and he'd have three new prisoners for Maleficent. She'd have to admit that she had been wrong about the intruders and finally give him the respect he deserved!

The sound of glass breaking shattered any hopes Pete had of a success. All around the area glass bottles were dropping like missiles on to the mass of heartless below. Defeating some on impact while stunning others. A large body who had been struck in the head fell backwards and crushed a gargoyle and two soldiers.

This gave the three the chance they needed. Once they were high enough and out of the firing range of the heartless the bottles stopped falling and the ship began to take off.

"Hang on!" The driver called down as the ship began its accent into the sky. The trio clung on tight to the ropes until the ship stabled itself. With a breath or relief they climbed up and onto the deck where they lay for a moment to rest.

"I'll have to apologize to Sparrow later. I sorely misjudged him." Jack admitted.

The others nodded in agreement when the cabin doors burst open and a wobbly Jack Sparrow stumbled over to the main mast. "Oyi! Who in name of thunder are you? Takin' a man's rum like that and chuckin' it overboard, and then commendeering 'is vessel while e's still aboard! How dare you sir!"

The group exchanged confused glances between each other. If it wasn't Sparrow who saved them then who?

"My apologies, Captain." Came the same voice from before. A teen with silver hair looked down at the group with a smile.

Mulan was the first to speak. "Is that...are you Riku?"

Aladdin looked over at Mulan. "But, how? The cell was empty! Don't tell me he wasn't even in there!"

Jack scratched his head. "And how did he end up on the ship?"

"I'm don't know how." Riku replied. "One minute I was in the cell and the next a corridor of darkness appeared and-"

A whistling sound cut Riku off as he saw a cannon ball coming at them fast. He turned wheel to avoid the hit. "Explanations will have to wait! Let's get out of here!" No one was going to argue with that. Even Sparrow focused on countering the blasts from the enemies with cannons aboard the Black Pearl.

Riku was trying to steer the ship away and leave, but as one of the cannon balls that Aladdin fired struck one of the castle's towers he got an idea.

"Guys!" He shouted as he turned the ship closer to the palace.

"What are you doing? We'll be in their line of fire if we sail in too close!" Mulan shouted towards the teen, but she stopped when she noticed the calm smile he wore.

"Aim for the castle! Try to make as much damage as you can. I'm only going to do this once!"

_. . ._

For the third time that night, Maleficent had been interrupted and it was working her last nerve. She vowed to herself that if it was Pete again she'd turn him into a bug just so she could squash him. She slowly made her way to look out the window when suddenly her eyes grew wide and she was forced to leap out of the way as a cannon came flying through the air and struck the wall where the window was. Bricks and other debris crumbled and fell where she had stood merely seconds ago.

The witch was almost beside herself with that she was seeing. The castle she had waited so long to obtain was being bombarded by cannon balls from...a flying pirate ship. She recognized the ship as the Black Pearl instantly and remembered when Pete had warned her that he had seen it. The very notion that he had been correct made her sick to her stomach, but that wasn't the worst of it. From her vantage point she could see some of the ship's crew. There was the Pumpkin King, the female warrior from the Land of Dragons, that street rat and his pet, Jack Sparrow and...!

Maleficent couldn't see his face, but that silver hair was unmistakable. How could he have escaped right under her nose? It was impossible! She looked down and saw Pete trying to order his heartless to get a better aim on the ship. their efforts were sad at best. One group of heartless took out another from across the lawn.

She was infuriated and made it clear by rasing her staff. A massive storm cloud appeared above the ship and lightning began striking down. Hitting both heartless and heroes alike. Pete had to dance just to avoid a few strikes before running away as Maleficent personally sent a few bolts his way.

Back on the ship the crew was getting pounded. "She can't take much more of this!" Sparrow shouted, pleading to leave before he lost his ship again, this time forever.

"He's right!" Mulan called. "We've already done more than enough!"

"Alright!" Riku replied. "Hang on!" He tried turning the ship away, but it was hard as the winds were working against him.

"Move!" Sparrow cried as he took control of the wheel and managed to get the ship moving in the right direction. Or at least it was to him.

The other four were knocked all over the place as they struggled to hang on.

"What are you doing?!" Aladdin shouted.

"He's gonna get us killed!" Jack skellington shouted.

"How can a skeleton die?" Sparrow asked as he calmly steered the ship.

"I don't want to find out anytime soon!" The master of fright replied as the ship began heading straight up.

Everything around them grew dark except for the flashes of lightning that struck dangerously close to them every few seconds. The group went silent as they clung onto the ship for dear life.

Finally after what seemed like forever the ship broke through the top layer of clouds and sailed into open air.

The group opened their eyes, wondering if it was really over. All they saw was open space ahead with not a heartless in sight.

"Did we do it?" Mulan asked.

"I think so." Riku replied.

"Aye!" Jack Sparrow replied as he proudly steered his ship. "The storm's far behind us and it's smooth sailin' for home!"

As the other three cheered and applauded each other and the questionable pirate Riku took a moment to fully grasp the idea...he was free.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Someone wanted to see Maleficent knocked off her high horse for once. Well, there ya go. ;) Of course, this isn't even close to being done. Who knows what the next chapter will bring? <em>**


	8. Repair and Refuel

_**Well I finally found some time to sit down and write this out. Not as long as the last two, but when you live in a house that's been pretty active and lively this past week it was the best I could do. I don't think I have it in me to pull another late night trying to write. Not two nights in a row anyway. ^^; Hope this chapter makes up for the wait and the next one probably won't be ready until at least after the weekend is over. Ah well. Enjoy! **_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

Sora felt sick to his stomach. The ship had been tossed in so many directions he was having trouble telling which way was up. Axel was trying to steer out of the Asteroid Field, but it wasn't easy. Heartless ships were everywhere! It took all of his piloting skills to keep from crashing into chunks of rock like Sora had with his Gummi Ship. Demyx grasped the arm rests of his seat tightly as he shouted each time a boulder came too close.

"Axel! If we live through this I'm gonna kill you!" He shouted with his eyes shut tight.

Sora felt the same as the water-weilding nobody and couldn't take it any longer. "Where's the weapons on this thing?" He shouted to Axel.

The red-headed nobody flipped a switch and a weapon's station rose up from an opening in the floor. Sora ran up to it and a hologram screen appeared showing the space surrounding the ship. Demyx glanced over to the kid as he prepared to fire. "I sure hope you have good aim."

Sora glared at the screen as a heartless ship came in sight. He fired twice. The first one missed, but the second one struck the enemy in the left wing causing it to crash into another that swooped in from below. Both ships exploded on impact.

"He's good." Axel said with a smirk. Demyx thought it was more luck than skill, but as long as they survived he really didn't care.

The ship got back on course and with the combined efforts of Axel and Sora the heartless numbers were shrinking. Demyx couldn't help but stare at the kid with amazement. He had seemed to glum earlier, but in battle he was determined and focused and,...was that a smile? A sudden jolt nearly sent Demyx falling from his chair as Sora almost lost his footing. A flashing red alert appeared on the screen as Axel grimaced. "It's a big one!"

Sora recovered and looked at the display. "It's a boss!"

The ship that had struck them was three times the size of their vessel which was already double the size of the Gummi Ship. It had four arms and two sets of wings that resembled that of a dragonfly. It also had a scorpion-like tail which contained a lightning globe at the tip...which it was charging up!

"It's gonna fire!" Sora shouted.

"Hang on!" Axel shouted back as he forced the ship to make a hard left turn. The creature unleashed it's attack, just barely missing the ship's right engine, however it struck the ship's tail. Axel's eyes almost ignited with rage. "That does it!" He pulled the ship into a U-turn and began flying right towards the heartless ship.

"Are you insane?! We'll be killed!" Demyx shouted with eyes open wide at his fellow nobody's recklace move.

"Play with fire and you get burned! Sora!" Axel called.

"Right!" The teen replied. They flew at the ship with Sora waiting for the right moment. Seconds seemed like hours as both heartless and vessel headed on a collision course. Finally Demyx couldn't take it any longer. "Just shoot the damn thing!"

"Now Sora!" Axel shouted.

"Roger!"

The ship tilted as it flew in close and unleashed a barrage of missiles and laser blasts. The heartless fired as well, but most of the attacks missed. One struck the ship's engine causing smoke to spew from behind and the air around it buzzed with sparks of electricity. The nobodies were damaged, but the heartless spiraled out of control until it slammed into an Asteroid and exploded.

"Yes!" Sora shouted. This time a smile was clearly visible on his face. Demyx looked over to Axel who nodded with a knowing smile. The smile vanished from Axel's face when a flashing red light filled the screen. "Just great, and I just had this thing fixed too."

Sora stepped away from the weapon's station which retracted back into the floor now that the heartless ships were no longer a threat. "What is it?" He asked.

"We took a pretty good hit, the engine's in rough shape. We'll have to land and make repairs."

Now that the battle was over Sora looked down at the floor, wondering if his friends were looking for him or if they even knew he was gone. Surely they had to have noticed the Gummi Ship missing by now. _"Oh crap. Donald's gonna kill me for crashing it."_ Sora thought as he bit his lower lip.

"Hey Sora, nice shootin' back there." Sora looked up to see Axel smirking at him.

Demyx came from behind him and wrapped an arm around the teen's shoulder in a brotherly fashion. "Yeah, you were really kickin' some major butt! Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Uh, w-well I..." Sora stuttered.

"Please, that kind of skill can't be taught. He was born with it." Axel answered.

Sora looked between the two nobodies who were smiling at him. He knew then that they were being honest about before. There was no hidden plan. They really were trying to help him. Putting his worries in the back of his mind, Sora returned their smiles with one of his own. "Thanks you guys."

Demyx gave Axel a thumbs up.

_~*~STL~*~_

"You can't stop me! I've got a bone to pick with him so get outta my way!"

"B-but Tifa, you can't just barge into his study and demand answers! It simply isn't done! Oh dear..."

The door to Yen Sid's study was knocked down at the black-haired fighter struck it with one solid kick. she entered the room flicking her hair. Yen Sid was sitting at his desk with a glowing map laid out in front of him. "Can I help you Miss Lockhart?"

She slapped her hands on the desk and leaned in over the desk. "Yeah! I wanna know why you sent Cloud out to look for him on his own! The guy's already having trouble getting involved with a group of people and this solo mission isn't going to help!"

Merlin tried to pull her back to have a more respectful attitude but a wave from Yen Sid silenced him and he stood back. The wave from his hand also fixed the door that was still laying on the floor. "I understand your anger and you are correct about Cloud, but I am confident that it will be easier getting Sora to return of his own free will if one person were to ask."

"So you send Cloud. I don't have to remind you who's still out there!"

"Cloud has battled with him before and won yes?" Yen Sid was concerned about the dangerous enemy, but it had been quite some time since his last appearance.

"Not without some nasty scars. That guy nearly killed him." Tifa replied. She clenched her fist as she looked down at her hand. "He told me about what happened up close during the fight. It was a rare moment. Cloud never usually tells me what happens during his fights, but the things that guy said. He wanted to know what Cloud cherished most, just so he could take it away."

"Hmm...I see." Yen Sid replied.

"It was right after he said that that Cloud had ended the battle with his final attack." Tifa finished.

"I'm guessing it will not be so easy to defeat him this time and as for his appearance in Hollow Bastion a few months ago...I believe he was searching for something." Yen Sid voiced his thoughts aloud, an open invitation for advice from the two other in the room.

"I wonder if he wanted Cloud to find him." Merlin voiced. "But, Cloud only came when he saw Sora fighting with him."

"No." Tifa told him. "Cloud was fighting with all of us against the heartless. Leon said they fought together and then he helped Sora after Goofy had been struck down."

"A-hyuck, I remember that. Boy did it hurt!"

Tifa and Merlin blinked and looked back toward the door.

"Goofy!" came another familiar voice. Yen Sid smiled. "Come in you two."

The door opened to reveal both Goofy and Donald. They looked down with ashamed expressions having being caught listening in. Yen Sid nodded for them to speak. Goofy obliged. "We visited three worlds so far. Simba says he's ready to lend a paw when the time comes and he'll keep an eye out for any signs of the heartless."

"Good." Yen Sid replied.

"But, the other two worlds refused to help. That old Queen of Hearts almost chopped off our heads and I won't even mention the other world." Donald replied.

Goofy tried to stifle a chuckle. Remembering the gorilla who almost dragged Donald off while Goofy tried to ask for Tarzan's help.

"I see..." Yen Sid nodded. "However, one is better than none and the king is making some progress I've noticed." The four gave him the same look and the master decided to show them what he had been looking at prior to Tifa's visit.

"This here is a map of a special part of the galaxy. One that has almost been forgotten and thankfully the heartless have never been spotted in this region before."

"Are you serious?!" Tifa asked in shock.

"Maybe we could evacuate everyone there if push comes to shove!" Goofy voiced.

"No way! We're not giving up our homes to the heartless or Maleficent! Not after what she's done!" Donald glared at his friend. Tifa nodded in agreement. "Donald's right. I'm not running away. Not when there's a chance we can still win."

Yen Sid only smiled calmly at them. "Mickey is not surveying the area for a new home. He's searching for new recruits. Warriors who are willing to fend off Maleficent's evil. What the king is searching for is a fresh army of fighters. Guardians, heroes, free spirits who go where ever the wind takes them. Adventurous explorers who won't accept defeat so easily. Those who think outside of the box and those who know how to bounce back. These are the defenders we need to win."

With this information the group looked on in awe at the map. There not many worlds on the map, but they were definitely one of a kind.

Goofy's face shifted from surprise to a look of determination. "Master Yen Sid, Sir. Donald and I are ready to head out and search for more help. The king's doing his part. It's only fair that we do ours."

Donald nodded in reply.

"Very well, you two may head out when ready...and if you happen to run in to Cloud on your mission, feel free to aid him if he needs it." Yen Sid waved to them as they bowed in respect and headed back down the stairs.

The old wizard turned back to Tifa as if to ask if that satisfied her. She nodded at him which gave him the answer he needed.

_~*~STL~*~_

The nobody ship arrived at its destination and hovered over the world in question. Sora became nervous when he recognized it. "Here? but, this is-"

"Where we're stopping for repairs." Axel finished. "The guy who fixed it up last time lives here and I don't trust anyone else to mess with it."

"B-but, people know me there. What if the resistance sees me?" Sora was really starting to panic. He wasn't ready to face his friends...not yet.

Demyx took the hood on the back of Sora's jacket and flung it over his head. "There, now your just another nobody. No one will know."

It did help Sora calm down, but he still didn't like the idea.

The ship landed in the world of Radiant Garden. In an empty lot with weeds popping out of the concrete. Demyx stepped out first with a stretch.

"Boy does it feel good to get off that ship for a while. Talk about cabin fever!"

Sora was a bit hesitant at the door until Axel shoved him out. "Come on, get movin'."

"Hey, I'm not some nobody you can pushed around." Sora glared.

"Sure you are, unless you want people to find out who you really are." Sora had to admit defeat. Axel had him there. "...Fine." He said with a deflated sigh.

"Just go grab something to eat and be back here when you're done. Who knows how long it's been since you last had a meal."

Sora blinked in thought. With a shocked look on his face he realized he hadn't eaten since his last meal of slop from Maleficent's prison! On cue his stomach growled as if saying: _"Yeah, ya knob! Did you forget how to eat? Feed me dang it!" _

With a nod to Axel he took off running. "Okay, I'll be back soon!" Sora called over his shoulder as he turned the corner and was gone. Axel watched him go and shook his head before heading into the garage. "Yo Sparky, you in here?"

A voice that was a bit higher than his replied in an irritated tone. "Don't call me Sparky!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Okay, ten points to whoever can guess who the mechanic is. Normally I'd give you guys a hint, but then it'd be way too easy. ;3<em>**

**_Also, Axel's ship needs a name. I've tried to think of a good one, but nothing sounds right. Anyone got a good one I could use?  
><em>**


	9. Bounty Hunter

**_H-oh man these past few weeks were annoying. Writing this chapter wasn't the hard part. Trying to get my connection to work was a nightmare. I wanted to thank everyone for their amazing suggestions for the name of Axel's Ship. There were many that I really liked and thanks to you I found one that worked. Also, I apologize. I should have offered a clue for the mechanic. You all get ten points anyway. ;) _****_  
><em>**

**_Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belongs to Disney and Square Enix._**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

Goofy and Donald had decided to grab something quick to eat before setting out again. Goofy was biting into a banana while Donald was chewing on a small loaf of bread. "Gee Donald, I wonder if Cloud's found Sora yet." Goofy wondered between bites.

"Who knows, but if he hasn't then we stick to him like glue." Donald replied with determination.

"But, what if we find Sora first?" Goofy asked.

"Then we drag him back here."

"Gawrsh, Donald. That sounds a bit harsh, don't ya think?"

"Not after he stole my ship it's not!" Donald replied. He was never very fond of Sora piloting the Gummi Ship, but for him to just take it and run didn't help matters.

As he continued to let his mind wander he didn't notice the shadow that appeared from overhead until Goofy pulled him back. "Donald! Look out!"

Something fell from the sky and landed where the duck had stood. A dust cloud was kicked up causing the two to cough. When the dust cleared Donald looked on in horror. "My ship!"

The Gummi Ship was in complete ruins. Donald fell to his knees and hugged the ship's hull. "Who could have done this to you?!" He wept.

"We found it like that on our way back." Came a female voice. Goofy looked up to see Mulan standing a few feet away as the Black Pearl anchored itself at the edge of the cliff.

Jack Skellington approached from behind her "Does anyone have a cure spell on hand?"

"Cure spell?" Donald had ceased his crying and looked over at the group who were making their way off the ship. Jack Sparrow walked past without saying a word, obviously still upset that his title as captain meant near to nothing to everyone else. Goofy and Donald saw that Aladdin was helping someone over to the group. Both took a collective gasp as they saw it was Riku.

"You got 'im!" Goofy shouted in joy before running up to help Aladdin get the teen inside. Donald ran ahead to alert everyone else.

About twenty minutes later Tifa closed the door to the room where Riku was now resting. She headed into the meeting hall where Mulan, Aladdin and the Pumpkin king were telling their heroic tale. Goofy listened to them in awe while Donald merely nodded with folded arms. Merlin was also listening in. "Oh my, it seems Maleficent has almost completely taken over the castle."

"Almost? but, I thought it was already hers." Goofy replied, scratching his head.

"Well, let's not forget the Cornerstone of Light. Its power may be weakened, but hopefully it's not completely gone. If a person with a strong light were to simply touch the stone, why then, the castle should force out any sort of darkness no matter how powerful."

Aladdin shook his head. "Trust me, it would take a pretty strong light to free that castle of darkness."

"What about the light of a keyblade?" Asked Jack.

"But, Sora said he wasn't going to use his Kayblade anymore." Mulan replied.

"Oh you worry to much." Jack retorted. "I bet he's out there using it right now."

"I hope you're right, Jack. Otherwise we're in some serious trouble." Merlin replied in a grave voice.

_~*~STL~*~_

Sora felt like he had traveled all over Radiant Garden and yet he still couldn't find a food stand. "What the heck is with this place?! I'm gonna starve if I don't eat soon!"

He decided that if he didn't find the food stand in two more blocks then he'd turn back. Thankfully he finally found the food stand. The building in question had its window open, showing the kitchen and the seating area was outside consisting of several picnic tables. There were a few costumers, but it didn't seem like anyone was in line. Sora happily ran up to the window.

He ordered what looked most familiar to him with a large cup of ice tea and sat down at one of the tables to enjoy. Sora soon found it was hard to eat with a large hood covering his face and was about to remove it when he heard a voice that almost made him choke on his bite.

"Yo! it's been ages! Where've you been?!"

It was Cid. Sora could recognize his voice anywhere.

"I've been busy." Replied a second voice. Sora breathed a sigh of relief. Cid wasn't talking to him. But then,...he realized he recognized the second voice too.

Turning his head ever-so-slightly he saw who Cid was talking to, though, the man had his back to him two tables away. But there was no mistaking the Blonde, spiky hair, the black outfit and...that sword!

Sora's eyes grew wide as he tried not to panic. Why was Cloud here?! There had to be a reason, he was suppose to be with the resistance. Was it a mission? Was he suppose to meet with Cid like a contact would for information? Sora tried to look casual by eating while he tried to listen in.

Cid shrugged with a huff. "What, ain't got no time for old friends anymore?"

"Actually, That's sorta why I'm here." The soldier replied.

"Huh? Sorry pal, I'm not followin'."

"Sora's gone missing."

Cid chuckled. "Boy, you're really out of the loop. He's bein' held up in that witch's new castle. The one that used to belong to King Mickey."

"No," Cloud replied. "We got him out of there..."

"No kiddin'!" Cid blinked in shock. "How'd ya manage to pull that off? Of course, I forget who I'm talkin' to." He folded his arms and stood more relaxed. "But, if Sora's free then why are ya lookin' for 'em? He take off with those friends'a his?"

"Something like that. Just let me know if you happen to see him." With that Cloud finished his drink and headed off, throwing the empty cup in the trash can as he turned the corner.

Sora waited for a moment before taking a deep breath of relief. That was way too close. Still, this was bad. Was Cloud going to track him down and force him to go back? Like...like some bounty hunter? True it was better than being hunted by heartless, but still. Sora ran for a reason. Cid snapped him out of his thoughts as he addressed him.

"Hey, ain't you one'a those Organization guys?"

Sora tried to mask his voice, without much luck. "I'm not here to cause trouble, if that's what you're wondering. I just want a bite to eat."

Cid huffed with attitude and strolled off, mumbling something as he went. Sora was just glad he managed to fool him. He finished his meal as quickly as he could before throwing the tray in the garbage and heading back the way he came. While he was keeping alert for any heartless he couldn't help but feel a bit cheerful. It sure felt good to have a full stomach again.

_~*~STL~*~_

When he got back to where the ship was he saw Demyx sitting outside with his hair standing on end and his close smoking. "What happened?" Asked Sora.

"That guy's completely nuts, that's what happened!" Replied the nobody as he coughed. Sora peeked over Demyx at the person still working on the ship.

Axel was standing next to him and getting onto the mechanic. "Megs, you know I won't pay you full price if you attack my team, no matter how annoying they are."

"Hey, I'm right here!" Demyx shouted in response.

The mechanic turned to look at Axel and for the first time Sora was able to glimpse him. Turning off the blow torch the man pulled off the steel mask and revealed that he was a rat. He had what looked like an electric plug for a hat and an outlet on the front and back of his yellow jump suit with blue straps and blue rubber boots. He adjusted his goggles as he glanced over at Axel. "Well then tell him to stay away from me. He nearly shorted me out!"

Sora looked up at the ship. "So, how's the progress coming along? Is it going to take much longer?"

That was the wrong thing to say. The rat got right in Sora's face and studied him with a beady eye, the other one closed to allow the other one a better focus. "Hmm, you look like a no good do-gooder. What's it to you? Ey? Got somewhere to be? Even I, the mighty Megavolt can't work that fast. It'll take at least another hour."

Sora looked back at the ship and then back at the rat. "An hour?!"

Megavolt shrugged. "I could push it to forty-five minutes, but I'd rather make sure the repair is worth the money Axel pays."

Sora was beside himself. The damage to the engine looked pretty bad and would have taken someone like Cid at least a day to fix, but this guy,...just who was he?

"Well, I'm off. If we got time to kill then I'm gonna see if I can find somethin' to eat." Axel said as he headed off back in the direction Sora had come from.

Demyx glanced down at Sora, noticing how fidgety the boy seemed. "What's the hurry? You didn't run into one of your pals did you?"

"Almost." Sora replied.

Demyx watched the kid head inside to observe the powerhouse rodent at work. The aquatic skilled nobody might not have been the smartest guy in the group, but it didn't take a genius to see that something really bad had happened to the kid and despite being his enemy once upon a time he couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. There had to be a way to cheer the kid up somehow.

_. . ._

Axel walked along the path as if he owned the place. He had no reason to fear his old stomping grounds. If anything he enjoyed it. Being back home after that mess with Xemnas there was only one thing to make the happy visit complete. Ice cream.

Knowing the way around town better than anyone it didn't take him long to find the old duck's ice cream shop. It wasn't as good as Twilight Town's, but it was good enough. Scrooge wasn't there, but he had trusted one of his nephews to manage it while he was away. The kid wasn't half bad, though he did talk about marbles and baseball more than anything. Axel envied the kid. All he had to worry about was school and getting his chores done. The world wouldn't fall apart if he didn't pick up his room.

As Axel took a bite an image of Roxas flashed through his mind. Axel stopped chewing at the thought. It happened every time he ate ice cream. Eating ice cream helped them bond as friends when they first met.

"I thought that was you."

A voice pulled him out of his memories as he turned around. Standing a few feet behind Axel was Cloud.

Axel couldn't hide a smirk. "Well look what the cat dragged in. Come to finish that battle we started a while back?"

Cloud's calm expression never changed. "Not interested."

"Oh? Then why stop and chat? If I remember right, you promised you wouldn't go easy on me next time." As Axel spoke his hands began to gather energy.

Cloud blinked slowly, he wasn't intimidated by someone he labeled as a hot head. "I'm looking for someone."

Axel's smirk widened into a grin as he finished his ice cream in one bite. "Well, looks like you found me first!" With that his flaming chakrams appeared in his hands as he lept at Cloud who easily dodged out of the way.

"I didn't come to fight you, but you're not giving me much of a choice."

"Wrong!" Axel shouted as he came at Cloud again. "I'm not giving you any choice at all! Got it memorized!" The soldier parried one of the chakrams with his sword and in the same move swung it under the nobody to force him to jump back.

Cloud glared at Axel as he gripped the handle of his sword. "Have it your way."

_. . ._

Demyx yawned as he stood up and stretched. "Boy I was so happy to get off the ship, now I just wanna get goin'." He looked back inside to find that Megavolt was just finishing up with the repairs and was just giving some of the other systems a few checks and touch ups. Sora was talking with him and they seemed to be getting along, which surprised the nobody. The only other person Megavolt seemed to have any kind of kinship with was Axel.

"Well, that guy was probably just doing his job. I'm sure it was nothing personal." Sora told the rodent.

"Not personal? Don't make me laugh. That guy's always trying to ruin my projects. And out of all colors, why purple? It doesn't go well with anything." Megavolt replied as he checked the oil pressure.

"Well,...it goes good with Black." Came Sora's reply.

Megavolt looked like he was about to argue the point, but he stopped as if remembering something from a bad dream. He quickly shook his head and concentrated on his work. "I suppose so. I guess it could be worse. The guy could be a tyrant if he wanted to and a scary one at that."

Sora nodded in agreement. "There's that and it's also a good thing he's not a heartless."

Megavolt seemed to spark as his mood changed instantly. "Heartless! Ou~ Don't get me started on heartless! Rotten no good rodents! Trapping me in this secondhand world! If I ever see another one I'll make them regret the day they ever messed with Megavolt!"

An explosion off in the distance surprised all three as tools and other equipment fell from shelves and rattled on the tables. After everything had settled Sora looked around. What was that?!"

"It came from somewhere in town." Came Demyx's reply. "Might have been that defense system of theirs acting up again." He didn't seem too worried about it, but Sora was.

He had seen the defense system in action before, both working properly and going haywire and he didn't ever remember flames or the smoke that was now rising in the distance from a few blocks over.

Without a second thought Sora took off running towards the smoke. "Hey! Where are you going?!" Demyx called to him, but Sora ignored him. Something deep inside was telling him to run and he felt the same fear as when Kairi had been hurt. "I'm not gonna lose another friend!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>I thought about posting the list of songs I've chosen that match this story. Sort of like a Soundtrack. Would you be interested in seeing what songs help this story tick? There's a decent number. My song list is somewhere in the 40's, but I could narrow it down a bit. If I do post the list of songs it'll be in a final author's note as a special feature after the end of the story. I might also post some story scenes that had to be cut out and rewritten, but I saved because they were good scenes, they just didn't fit with the storyline. <strong>_


	10. That Day Revealed Part 1

_**You know the good thing about what happens when someone takes a break due to connection problems? When the person comes back they usually have more then one chapter to update. Such is the case here. I won't go into details, but what doesn't happen in this chapter will be revealed not long from now. That's a promise. **_

_**Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. **_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

When Sora got to the scene of the explosion he looked around for the source. A cough from a pile of broken wood caused Sora to turn around. "Axel!"

He ran over and started moving some of the boards away so the nobody could sit up. "Man, that hurt!" Came his reply.

Sora allowed himself a sigh of relief. "What happened?"

Axel looked around, noticing that his opponent had already left. "This town thought I was up to no good. That defence system of theirs is pretty tough."

"That's Tron for you." Sora replied.

"Who?"

"The town's best program for defense. Tron manages both the heartless defense system and Ansem's main computer. I guess he got a bit carried away this time."

Axel stood up and brushed himself off. "Well, next time it better know not to mistake me for some common heartless or I'll just have to teach it some manners."

He looked down at Sora who seemed to be looking around. The teen knew that an explosion like that would draw the attention of others, but he was relieved when no one showed up.

Axel realized that he was right. As much as he hated to admit, even to himself, he was right.

"So, how's the Flaring Comet?" Came Axel's question.

"The what?" Sora turned to blink at Axel.

"The name of my ship. The Flaring Comet. Got it memorized?" The nobody replied.

"Oh, uh Megavolt says the repairs are complete. He was just checking to make sure the other systems were working properly."

"Good, then we can finally get out of here."

Axel and Sora headed back towards the rat's garage. The walk back was a quiet one. Axel kept glancing over at Sora, trying to determine if what Cloud had told him was true. Yeah Sora seemed down on his luck when they first spotted him, but he had also seen Sora's famous fighting spirit return in the blink of an eye. Had the kid really given up? Was he simply just starting to get over the shock of what happened or was his current demeanor just his way of trying to survive? It was anyone's guess, but Axel hoped the kid would pull through.

When they got back to the garage Demyx was leaning against the ship, looking quite irritated. When he saw the two approaching he smiled with relief. "About time! Can we go now, please? This guy won't shut up!"

Megavolt threw a wrench at the aquatic nobody. "I told you not to interrupt! This is important and since Axel ain't here you'll have to remember!"

"Remember what?" Came Axel's annoyed reply.

"Oh!" Megavolt's mood changed again as he appeared around the corner and smiled. "I fixed an oil leak and some other minor issues, but there are a few systems that are a bit glitchy. A few gummi blocks should fix that problem easily enough. I just don't have any."

"That's alright. As long as it gets us from point A to point B safely, that's all that matters." Axel replied as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out some munny. It was more than he usually gave him, but the rodent did good work and he did more than asked most of the time.

Megavolt smiled as he pocketed his pay. Normally a villain, he felt pretty good doing honest work for once. Demyx approached his boss. "So, can we go now?"

"Yeah, we can go." Axel replied, annoyed by his friend's attitude.

Sora looked over at mechanic as the other two boarded the ship. "See ya around, Megavolt!." He called. The rodent turned and smiled. ""Sure, just ease up on the hero stuff. You can only go so far until it becomes annoying."

"That won't be a problem." Sora replied as he boarded the ship.

Axel waited until the others were buckled in before activating the engines. "Flaring Comet, ready for launch...ignition!" With that the ship shot straight up into the sky. As Sora sunk into his seat he realized where the ship got its name.

_~*~STL~*~_

Cloud watched the ship rise into the sky from where he stood at the bailey. When it vanished out of sight he returned his attention to a burn he had suffered on his right arm from his fight with Axel. It was a lucky shot. Even before becoming a nobody, Axel could never land a punch when the two brawled. Naturally, it was always Axel who would start the fight. Cloud only accepted the challenge just to shut him up.

As he looked down at his arm a gentle hand came from the side and lightly touched the wound.

"Here, let's get that taken care of."

Cloud didn't need to see her to know who it was. Her voice alone gave her away. "How'd you know I was here, Aerith?"

The woman in the pink dress with braided hair smiled as she replied. "Cid told me you were in the area."

Cloud remained silent, still not looking up at her.

"Come on." She urged taking his hand as she began walking back towards Merlin's house. After a short hesitation, Cloud allowed her to lead him.

Inside of the wizard's cottage Aerith had begun cleaning the burn to prevent any infection. The wound would have made most wince in pain, but Cloud was used to enduring his injuries. After taking a stab to the shoulder and enduring the stigma, a simple burn was nothing in comparison. Aerith knew that there was more she had to do than treat a physical wound. There was an emotional scar that she could see and something perhaps only she could mend.

"Cid told me you're looking for Sora." She started in her soft voice.

"Yeah. I don't know what's gotten into his head." He replied. "He just ran off."

Aerith nodded as she continued to clean the wound. "Would you like to tell me what happened from the beginning?"

It was a mystery. One few would ever understand, but the normally silent Cloud, who kept everything to himself, would only open up to her. He told her everything that had happened from the moment of Sora's rescue to when the teen ran off.

"I have a feeling Axel knows something, but he was reluctant to say anything." Cloud finished.

Aerith was just wrapping a bandage around his arm as he finished and voiced her opinion. "Maybe Sora's traveling with Axel. I remember the King mentioning that Axel used to be good friends with Sora's nobody."

"That still doesn't explain why he left in the first place." Cloud replied as he felt the medicine that Aerith had rubbed into the gauze begin to take effect.

"Perhaps something bad happened to him, something he's still fighting. From what you've told me, it sounds like he lost someone he cares for." She replied.

"How do you figure that?" Cloud asked.

"Because it reminds me of what happened to you. You haven't gotten over what happened to Zack. Sure, you've managed to tame those feelings by locking them deep within, but they still trouble you every now and then. That's partly why you keep yourself distant from others."

Cloud kept silent and kept his gaze focused on the floor.

"See, I'm right." Aerith replied knowingly.

She tied off the bandage and cut away the extra. That was Cloud's cue to leave.

"You know,..." she began and Cloud stopped before reaching the door. "When I first met Sora, he reminded me of a younger version of you. You could almost be brothers."

Cloud couldn't see her face with his back turned to her, but he knew she was smiling.

Her tone became a bit more serious as she spoke. "He needs someone to help him through this. Sora ran because he doesn't understand the pain and he's unconsciously trying to find a way to heal. What he needs is someone who understands what he's been through. Someone to guide him past the nightmares and the hopelessness. It shouldn't be hard. A personality like Sora's is too strong to give in without a fight. He just needs someone to show him the way."

Cloud waited for her to finish before opening the door. "...Okay." With that he left.

After Cloud disappeared around the corner to mount Fenrir and take off a shadowed figure vanished from a nearby rooftop, leaving only a single black feather behind.

_~*~STL~*~_

Despite being held prisoner in Maleficent's dungeon for the past few weeks, Riku had already begun to show signs of recovery, which surprised many of the resistance fighters. No longer confined to a bed he was sitting in the meeting hall, being questioned by several members of the war council.

"What's the castle's strongest defence?" Asked Phil. "If those three bums can get in there and get out then maybe there's a good chance to take 'er down!"

"Excuse me? I am not a bum." Mulan replied, sounding very offended.

"I wasn't referrin' to you. I was talkin' about That pirate." Phil replied.

"And what about us?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes, I recall pulling my own weight back there!" The Pumpkin King added.

"What weight? Yer nothin' but a bag'a bones for crying out loud!" Phil retorted.

"Gentlemen, please! all this arguing is getting us no where." Merlin interrupted before fists started flying. He gazed sternly between the three and only softened his expression once he was sure they had calmed down. Now, Riku, why don't you start from the beginning. How did this all happen?"

Riku took a moment to reflect on everyone in the room. It seemed almost the entire resistance was there. Except for Cloud and those stationed in Radiant Garden. Some, like Mulan and Beast he knew, but others were complete strangers to him. Merlin sensed this and nodded with a smile.

"It's alright, Riku. Every one of us is trust worthy. We all owe you and Sora a lot after all the help you've given in the past, but if we are to ever return the favor we need to know how Melficent managed to take the castle so easily."

"It wasn't easy." Riku replied.

"You fought her?" Beast asked.

Riku gave a humorless chuckle. "Yeah,...we fought."

* * *

><p><em><strong>...Four Weeks Ago...<strong>_

Sora looked up at the front gates of Disney Castle in awe. "Whoa..."

"You act like you've never been here before." Riku replied with a smirk.

"I've just never seen the main entrance before, that's all. I arrived through the Gummi Ship's hanger." The key bearer replied.

"Looks like it's a new experience for all of us then." Kairi replied with a smile.

"C'mon!" Sora called with a smile of his own. "The king's expecting us! Can't throw a party without the guests of honor can he?" He took off through the gates as they opened with Riku and Kairi running close behind.

The day before Mickey had sent them a surprise letter each. Inviting them to an honorary celebration for their heroic deeds over the past two years. Sora didn't really feel like he needed a party to show off or have anyone praise him. But he did like the idea of seeing his friends, Goofy and Donald again. Spending time with the king and enjoying time with Riku and Kairi after being separated from them for so long was definitely something he was also looking forward to.

They had arrived a few hours earlier than expected. The trio certainly surprised the castle's residents. Goofy was caught snoozing in the garden and Donald was spending some time with Daisy, or at least trying to. She had been keeping herself very busy, and she was angry that Donald had been gone for so long and she was also angry because of the level of danger the mage had put himself in. Most of her anger was just a show. Secretly, she was grateful that he was home safe and sound, just like Sora had promised her. That was when she noticed the teen in question waving at them from outside of the window that faced the garden.

King Mickey was having breakfast with Queen Minnie when a knock at the door sounded.

"Come in." Mickey called.

Donald and Goofy entered, pushing the double doors all the way open before standing on either side of the doorway. "You're Majesties, Announcing the valiant key bearer and his noble friends. Sora, Riku and Kairi!"

As the three entered Donald and Goofy saluted them. "Jeez guys, why so formal? I'm nobody special." Sora replied with a sheepish grin.

"On the contrary," Mickey addressed him. "All three of you are truly amazing. You're worth more than your weight in gold. Why, the worlds would still be lost to darkness without you."

"Nah, I just did what anyone else would in my place." Sora replied. Riku rolled his eyes while Kairi giggled.

Mickey shook his head hopelessly. This complementary banter could well go on forever. Even after all that had happened Sora never changed. He was still modest and humble to a fault.

"Why don't we go see how the preparations are coming along? The party's not suppose to start for a few more hours. Why don't you head down to the kitchens and tell the cook what your favorite foods are so he can make them?"

They made their way down to the kitchens and followed Mickey through the swinging double doors. what they saw was a complete mess. The head chef, Louie was in a fit of rage as he slammed a butcher's knife down on the counter. "I will not allow rodents in my kitchen!" He shouted, revealing a thick french accent.

"Louie! What's gotten into you?!" Mickey shouted.

Chef Louie stopped in mid-swing and looked over at the door. Right away he tried to hide the knife. "Oh! Uh, your majesty, I was just...uh...slicing ze carrots and other vegetables."

"Sure you were." Riku flatly replied, rolling his eyes.

"Riku, don't be rude. It's not his fault he's having a bad day." Kairi replied, coming to the man's defense.

"Thank you kindly madam, but zis really was my fault. I'll have it cleaned up in no time...OUCH!"

He dropped the knife and shook his hand where something had bitten him. A grey furry creature darted across the counter top and climbed up on Sora's shoulder.

"A rat?" Sora asked.

The rat seemed to cringe at his comment until the boy looked back at the chef.

"Zat is ze reason for zis mess, your highness! I do not know how zat rodent got in here, but I'll be sure to take care of him."

The rat began to tremble in fear until Sora stopped the chef from going any farther. "But, that's not fair. The little guy probably only wanted something to eat. you can't get mad at someone for being hungry."

The rat's jaw dropped open. He never expected anyone to come to his defense. With a determined look he jumped down from Sora's shoulder and landed in the King's hand and began squeaking.

"You what?" The king asked. "Uhuh...uhuh...okay." The king looked back up at Sora. "What's your favorite soup?"

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Just say it." Mickey replied with a smile.

With a shrug the first thing that came to Sora's mind was: "Tomato soup. Mom always made the best when I was sick."

The rat went to work right away. First washing his paws then he gathered the ingredients. It took a few minutes and after tossing in the seasonings and making sure it had everything just right he took a deep spoon and scooped up some from the pan and poured it into a small bowl and pointed for Sora to taste. He was a little hesitant at first, but soon picked up the bowl.

"You're not really going to eat it are you?" Riku asked. "It'll probably taste awful."

"Won't know until I try." The key bearer replied and took a small sip. Sora's eyes grew wide for a moment before he started drinking the bowl down until every last drop was gone. "That was amazing! It tasted just like Mom's!"

He looked down at the rat. "How'd you do that?" He asked.

The rat merely shrugged and smiled.

Chef Louie was mortified. Not only did a rodent cook in his kitchen, but it made something good?! He refused to believe it! Taking a small taste from what was still in the pan and not only did he discover it was good, but it made him cry in defeat. Louie hung up his chef's hat, and left a 'I quit' notice on the counter before leaving.

Kairi tasted the soup next and smiled as her eyes sparkled. "Oh wow! This is great!" The rat blushed at the comment.

Again, Riku rolled his eyes. "A rat that can cook, now that'll be the day. What's next? An elephant that can fly?"

"Um..." Before Sora could begin to say anything Kairi took a spoonful and shoved it in Riku's mouth. He tensed up for a moment before relaxing his shoulders.

"Well?" Kairi asked.

Riku swallowed before looking away from the group. "Okay, you win. It's good."

"Well then, that settles it. Remy here is our new head chef!" King Mickey declared.

After a brief moment of happy tears the rat put his game face on. with the help of the rest of the kitchen staff he was soon busy making all of the preparations for the party while also writing out a list of the honored guests favorite foods. Even Riku requested a few select items on the new menu. Chef Remy was soon busy cooking. It promised to be a very lovely banquet.

"Why don't we leave him to his work? He looks pretty focused." Mickey told the group as they exited out of the swinging doors and headed for the garden.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The scene between Chef Louie and Remy the Rat was one of those things that wrote itself. That scene in The Little Mermaid where Louie was chasing Sebastien all over the kitchen was one of the funniest scenes in the movie. Looks like we're finally getting a glimpse as to how this whole nightmare started, but remember this is just Riku's side of the story. ;)<em>**

**_The next chapter is half way done, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long.  
><em>**


	11. That Day Revealed Part 2

_**Three chapters in one weekend? That's got to be a record. Actually, the previous two were already written. However I did finish this one in under two days. I was completely in the zone yesterday. I wish I could have more good days like that. It was nice writing Sora as his old self again, however tat was the past. The present's about to get a whole lot darker before it gets lighter. This is only the beginning of the calm before the storm. Once again, everything may not be as it seems. Things are confused now, but all will become clear in time. I promise. ;)**_

_**Disclaimer! Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

Kairi had volunteered them to help out with the decorations. A little help from Donald's magic and the garden had been transformed from a winding maze of sculpted hedges to an open area of tables and lamp posts for the celebration. Goofy had asked the king why they hadn't set it up in the Ball Room, but it was a nice summer's day and it promised to be a beautiful night. Mickey had a surprise set up once the sun had set.

Sora was tying up some streamers while Riku was helping Kairi unfold and place the table cloths. Queen Minnie came out with Daisy close behind. "Are you sure its alright to make our guests of honor set up for their own party?"

"It's alright, your majesty. We don't mind." Sora replied with a grin as he tied another blue streamer to a lamp-post.

"Yeah, we'd rather help out then walk around the castle and get in the way of others." Riku replied as he unfolded another cloth.

"Besides, we normally set up for the Destiny Islands Summer Festival all the time." Kairi added as she began placing the flower vases on the tables that had already been set up.

"I can certainly tell, everything looks wonderful. Thank you for doing such a fantastic job." The Queen replied.

About an hour later everything was set. The king and queen took in the sight with pure joy. "This is amazing fellas!" He praised. "I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything you can't do."

Riku smirked at the thought. "Well, Sora can't cook to save his life."

"At least I can ride a skateboard for longer then twenty seconds without falling off." Sora retorted.

"I can't sing." Kairi admitted.

"That's not true!" Both Riku and Sora said at the same time. "You've got a great voice Kairi. Remember that ballad you sang three summers back? The one about the sailor and the light house?" Sora asked.

"You remember that?" She replied.

"I'm not surprised, he was bawling his eyes out like a baby." Riku teased.

"Oh give me a break. You had tears in your eyes too, admit it!" Sora argued back.

"At least I can sing better than you can." Riku challenged, folding his arms with a smug grin.

Sora however, had something that would take away his friend's smirk. "Oh yeah? Well I stared in the Atlantica Musical with Ariel and King Triton said it was one of the best musicals he'd ever seen. So there!"

"Yeah, seen, not heard. Leave it to you to wow the crowd with some fancy keyblade tricks." Riku replied.

"That's it!" Sora tackled Riku and they both went tumbling across the lawn. The rest of the group shook their heads.

"Boys will be boys, I guess." Mickey replied.

"Oh my, do you think we should stop them?" Minnie asked.

"It's not gonna be easy. Those two look like they could go on like that for hours." Daisy replied.

"I got an idea." Kairi suggested. She walked a bit closer to where they were wrestling near the entrance to the Gummi Hanger. Cupping her hands to her mouth she called over to them. "Watch out! Heartless!"

In a flash both boys jumped up and held their weapons ready while standing back to back, prepared to take down the enemy as a team. They looked around for a moment before realizing they had been tricked.

"That wasn't funny Kairi." Riku replied, looking her way as Way To Dawn vanished.

"Neither is you two fighting like little kids. This is suppose to be a fun day. Stop turning it into another Riku verses Sora tournament!"

After that, everything settled down. About a half hour later some of the early guests began arriving. Most of them were from the nearby town outside of the castle's gates. Sora didn't recognize any of them. He wondered if he'd see anyone he did know until he remembered that unless they had a summon charm, no one from the other worlds could travel to another. Sealing the keyholes had ensured that and the new path ways that Sora had opened up were only accesible with a keyblade.

While he was honored that the king had thrown a party for him and his friends, he wished he could share his victory with those he fought alongside and befriended. Jack Skellington, Ariel, Mulan, Simba, Beast, Aladdin, Hercules, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Stitch, Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Merlin, he could go on forever. It just didn't feel right to celebrate without them.

The guests were arriving in larger numbers now, but to Sora, it felt like the garden was still empty. He was half tempted to ask Donald to fly to each world and invite them one by one. That idea was shot when he saw his friend over by the drinks table. He was pouring a glass of ice tea for Daisy and talking with her. There was no way he was going to pull Donald away from her. It wasn't Donald he was afraid of, it was Daisy. For some reason he had a feeling her temper was worse than his feathered friend's.

Sora looked for Goofy next, but saw him talking to some of the guests. One was a heavy set feline reminded him of a younger Pete, but a polite, kind Pete (which Sora was convinced didn't exist), and the other was a spitting image of Goofy, with the exception of scruffy, messy hair. The key bearer glanced over at the king who was talking with Minnie, Riku, Kairi and two other guests.

Sora suddenly couldn't stand being in the garden and headed into the Gummi Ship's hanger. "Hey!" Riku called down as he followed behind his friend. "Where are you going? The party's back that way."

"Have you ever been surrounded by a large crowd, but feel totally alone?" Sora replied.

"What are you talking about? You're probably just bored. With the heartless and nobodies pretty much gone you feel like your lacking a sense of purpose, right? It's natural."

Sora was surprised by Riku's answer. He expected him to call him stupid or something, but he seemed to understand to a point. Sora took a chance and lowered his guard. He told him what was really on his mind. When he finished Riku folded his arms.

"I get it, but that's pretty much impossible with the World Order. There are some strict rules regarding those who can travel from world to world, but some lines can't be crossed."

"But, they did just as much fighting as we did. It doesn't seem fair that we get a party and they don't even get invited!" Sora argued.

Despite being on the opposite side of the argument, Riku agreed with him, but he knew if he admitted it then Sora would ask for his help to bring them here. An impossible feat to do in a single day. Aside from tracking everyone down and waiting for them to get prepared if they even accepted, some may not even believe them with talk of other worlds and...was that a...?

"Sora!" Riku glared at his friend who turned to look at him. Way To Dawn appeared in his hand as Riku lunged towards Sora. The key bearer reacted like a deer in headlights.

Riku rushed past him and struck a heartless shadow that had risen from the wall just behind his friend. Sora blinked in shock once he realized what had happened. "That wasn't...was it? It's impossible! The cornerstone should have stopped-"

A scream from upstairs cut him off and both boys rushed back to the garden. The sight before them left them frozen in place. The sky was dark, covered by thick purple clouds. Heartless were everywhere. The guests were running for their lives. Some escaped, others weren't so lucky. Donald and Goofy were trying to fight them off and clear a path for the guests to flee.

"Maxie! Get everyone out of here!" Goofy shouted.

"I will! You just be careful, Dad!" Replied his son as he called everyone over towards him.

"Daisy, you go with them!" Donald urged his sweetheart, but she refused to budge.

"But, the King and Queen. They've gone!" She replied frantically. Riku and Sora ran up to them. "Sora," Riku glanced over at his friend. "You go look for the king. You know your way around here better than I do."

"But what about you?" Sora asked.

"I'll help fight the heartless in the garden. We have to make sure everyone gets out safely."

With a nod, Sora ran off down the hall. He had a hunch as to where the King had gone. Minnie and Kairi had probably stuck with him, knowing that with a keyblade master, they were protected.

Riku saw Sora disappear through the small section of the large doors before he struck down two more heartless.

Instead of dwindling, the heartless were only growing in number and they were growing stronger as well. Now he was dealing with Soldiers and the odd large body. Gargoyles were popping up now as well as several fire-casting heartless.

Seeing that everyone was getting out safely thanks to Donald and Goofy, Riku hurried to catch up with Sora. He got to the large doors and entered just like how he saw Sora enter and was greeted by a massive ballroom filled with more heartless. Riku had no choice. With Way To Dawn he plowed his way through. It was slow going, but he finally made it to the other end of the hall. The platform where the thrones were positioned was moved to the side, revealing a hidden set of stairs. Riku had made it to the third step when he heard a pain-filled scream.

"Sora!" Riku darted down the steps only to come face to face with a horrific scene.

Queen Minnie was trapped in a green bubble that pulsed with green and black flames. Next to her was another identical bubble where Kairi was imprisoned and there was no sign of King Mickey.

Sora was down on one knee, leaning against his keyblade. Blood was dripping on the floor from a wound on his shoulder. Kairi was crying and banging against the bubble, Worry for her friend plain on her face.

Riku glared at the one who had caused all of this. With this level of chaos he expected Maleficent, but this man standing before him had a different kind of evil. It felt almost, worse than that of the witch. His voice was calm, smooth and made Riku's blood run cold.

"You can't help them. You're too weak. You only have yourself to blame."

"Don't listen, Sora!" Riku shouted, finally letting his presence known to the others. "Touch the cornerstone of light!" He urged. "dispel the darkness!"

The man slowly turned his head towards Riku. The man was smiling. Not very much, but enough for Riku to feel a chill crawl up his spine. In his other hand he raised a long sword. Never had Riku seen such a weapon. It could almost reach him where he stood at the entrance and the man was on the other side of the room! His long silver hair which nearly matched Riku's in color flowed easily as his single black wing stretched out for a moment before folding back neatly.

"This thing? It's nothing but a false crystal ball. Filling lies into those that cling to a fading light." He raised his sword and in one swift motion swiped his blade at the great stone. Nothing happened at first, but then a crack appeared and grew until the giant sphere split clean in two. As the pieces crashed to the floor Sora roared in anger and charged at the man. Riku also did the same, swearing that if Sora missed, he wouldn't.

The man wielded his sword with such mastery that both boys were no match for him. Riku was injured, but Sora was obviously taking the most damage. He tried once more, determined to save his friends and defeat this monster of darkness, but the man was done playing. One final strike with his sword ended the battle. Sora fell back and hit the floor hard, knocking the wind out of him.

The man approached Sora who glared at him with one eye, the other shut tight from the pain of his injuries. He pointed the sword at Sora's throat and smirked. "Tell me, what is it you cherish most?"

A mixture of terror and hatred filled Sora's eyes. He refused to answer.

"Leave him alone!" Came Kairi's voice.

The man turned towards the girl, still suspended in the bubble. "I see." The man calmly stated, the girl having given him the answer he needed.

"Touch my girlfriend and I"ll kill you!" Riku shouted. His response caught all three of them by surprise, well he couldn't tell with the bad guy, but his two friends seemed shocked enough.

"You attack her and it'll be the last thing you ever do!" Riku threatened again. It seemed to work, the man bought it. Riku knew that Kairi had chosen Sora, he knew this from the moment he found out her heart rested with him over a year ago. He wasn't bitter, it only made him want to protect them even more.

The man kept glaring at Riku and the teen prepared himself for a fight, but with a dark smile the man rose into the air and vanished. Riku didn't understand.

"R-Riku!" Sora shouted through gritted teeth. "Behind you!"

The warning came too late. He was struck with black and green flames and sent flying across the room. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Maleficent standing in the room, cackling with the feeling of ultimate victory.

* * *

><p>When Riku had finished the entire room was speechless. Some were enraged, others heartbroken and the rest had been shocked to the core. It was Tifa who broke the silence.<p>

"I knew it."

Eyes slowly drifted her way. "Knew what?" Merlin asked.

Tifa kept her gaze focused on the table. "I knew we hadn't seen the last of Sephiroth. For once I'm glad Cloud wasn't here."

"Why's that?" Phil asked.

"Because this table would be reduced to splinters. Cloud and Sephiroth have a history. What I don't understand is why Sephiroth would chose to attack Disney Castle and work alongside Maleficent? It doesn't seem like him."

"Perhaps he wasn't allied with her. Riku said he vanished just before Maleficent appeared."

"He wasn't working with her." Riku said. "Maleficent said so when she had us locked up. She laughed because she thought it was nice to know someone had done all of the hard work for her. Sora was no match for her in his injured state."

The group seemed to deflate. Any hopes they had of finding out a way to defeat Maleficent only opened up their eyes to the pain Sora had gone through, but Riku wasn't done.

"After Maleficent left I used my last potion on Sora. It didn't heal him completely, but it was enough to get him back on his feet. He got us out using the Keyblade and we headed off to find Kairi and the Queen. We didn't get very far. The castle had been completely overrun by heartless. We fought, but were recaptured."

Riku paused for a moment and clenched his fists. Mulan placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, you've told us enough. You should go and rest." Merlin told him.

"No, you need to hear this." Riku replied.

"Maleficent had locked us up in the basement which she had converted into a dungeon. She had come down there herself to make sure we were locked up properly, but I thought she had forgotten about the Keyblade's power. Sora easily got out again and came at her for a surprise attack, but Maleficent was hoping for him to do that. She quickly turned revealing she had another prisoner. It was too late for Sora to stop his attack and the prisoner was struck. She screamed in pain before Maleficent blasted her with a dark spell and she vanished into darkness."

Everyone knew who it was, but they hopelessly prayed they were wrong. It was Beast who finally asked for the truth. "It was Kairi, wasn't it."

Riku lowered his head, his hair shadowing his eyes as a tear landed on his hand. "...Yeah." He replied in a choked whisper.

"No wonder Sora vowed never to use the Kayblade again." Mulan commented.

"We should have known he had a reason for his actions." Came Beast's reply.

"We've got to find him and help him through this." Aladdin added.

"No."

Everyone looked over at Yen Sid. "Sora has all of the support he needs. Our task is to be ready."

"Ready for what?" Phil asked.

"Reclaiming what's rightfully ours."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Oh snap! Looks like things are about to get a lot worse before they get better.<br>**_


	12. Pawns

_**Okay, it is a record. Four days, four chapters. It feels like this story is writing itself. It 'wants' to be told. Works for me. :) **_

_**Disclaimer! for the hundredth time. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix. Enjoy! **_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

Sora had finally made it past the heartless from the Second District and opened the doors leading to the Third. Everything seemed quiet. Now all he had to do was find where Leon went.

As Sora made his way down the stairs he looked carefully around. It seemed these creatures liked to pop up out of no where and without warning. As he made his way into the District's center he heard a commotion from above. Looking up, he quickly tried to get out of the way, but something heavy fell on top of him.

"The Key!"

Sora blinked, trying to snap out of his daze when walls rose up from the ground, blocking all exits. Then the heartless appeared. Sora realized that two others were trapped with him. They didn't seem like enemies, so he focused on the creatures. One of the flying heartless dived from behind and struck him in the back. Sora went down, but he didn't stay there.

"Cure!"

A soft green glow surrounded Sora for a moment before he stood back up, the pain was completely gone. He turned towards the duck and smiled. "Thanks!" The duck glanced back at him and smirked before rejoining his friend to fight. Sora pitched in and worked alongside them. He soon discovered that they made a pretty good team. His hunch was proven right when a twenty-foot heartless appeared and tried to stomp them flat with its giant feet. That fight wasn't easy, but with Goofy's shield, Donald's magic and Sora's keyblade the creature soon crumbled and a large crystallized heart rose into the sky before vanishing.

With the battle over Sora turned to his new allies. Explanations were made and it was soon clear that they had been looking for him.

"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds in our vessel!" Goofy invited.

"Okay, I'll go with you guys!" Sora replied with a smile.

"Donald Duck!" The mage introduced himself.

"Name's Goofy."

"I'm Sora."

"All for one and one for all!" Goofy declared.

Sora smiled at his new friend's cheerful outlook. A sudden roar caused him to look up.

"No!" Sora cried.

A large black dragon with glowing yellow eyes was coming in fast. Sora tried to pull the others with him. "Run!"

But, they were rooted to the spot in fear. The dragon came in and with a blast of green flames engulfed the two. "No! Not them too!" Sora shouted, but it was too late. The dragon turned its gaze towards Sora. It opened its bright yellow mouth and let out a roar of triumph.

"Sora!"

Sora looked around, hoping it was Leon who called to him. Maybe there was still a chance to save Donald and Goofy.

"Sora!"

The key bearer looked around again, but he couldn't find the voice.

"YO! WAKE UP!"

"Ahh!" Sora hit the floor hard. He sat up and rubbed the side of his face. His eyes blinked open and he was back on the Flaring Comet. His mind felt foggy and he took a moment to determine what was dream and what was reality.

"Earth to Sora!" Demyx shouted from somewhere just behind him.

"Yeah, I'm awake." He replied in a grumpy tone.

"Just checkin'." The aquatic musician replied. He leaned his arms over the chair where the teen had fallen from. "That must've been some dream."

Sora looked up at him in surprise. "Why?"

"You know you talk in your sleep?" Demyx asked. "You kept saying, 'Not them too', and you looked like you were about to cry."

"It's nothing." Sora lied. "Just a bad dream I have every once in a while."

It was clear he wasn't going to say anything more on the subject and Demyx gave up with a shrug. Axel had kept silent, but he had been listening. Cloud was right. This kid was breaking apart piece by piece. Soon there might not be anything left of the old Sora or...

"Demyx. Take the controls." He ordered.

"What? You know I suck at flying." The nobody replied.

"Just do it. It won't be for long." With that he got up and let go of the steering. The ship lurched to the side and Demyx hurried to right the ship. Sora had stood up and dusted himself off, but was soon walking backwards as Axel past him and grabbed a hold of his hood.

"Hey!" Sora shouted, almost stumbling, but Axel refused to let go. He dragged Sora into a side room and shoved him inside before entering and closing the door.

Sora glanced around and noticed it was some sort of training room. There was burn marks on the wall and a pair of headphones on a nearby desk.

Axel glared at Sora as if he were an enemy. "I've tried to be patient, but that's about run out. Now, out with it. What is your problem?"

Sora glanced to the side. "None of your business."

Axel resisted the urge to throw a fireball at him. "Too bad, I'm making it my business. Besides, you owe me."

"Oh yeah?"

"You darn right! Not only did I use the last of my energy to help you beat the Organization, but then I swooped in and saved you when the heartless made your ship crash."

Sora kept his gaze directed to the side. "Maybe, I wanted that to happen."

"What?" Axel's anger gave way briefly to confusion.

"Maybe I wanted the heartless to get me."

"You...you want to become a heartless?" Axel really couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What else am I good for? If my light is weak then maybe my darkness is stronger."

WHAM!

Sora was on the floor before he knew what hit him. Axel was standing over him with a fist raised. He was seething with anger as he picked Sora back up by the collar of his jacket.

"You really don't get it do you! You think you're the only one who's had a tough life? Living on that tropical paradise made you soft! there are others who've had it a lot rougher then you and they're still fighting! I refuse to let you hide in a corner with your tail between your legs!"

Sora rubbed his cheek, but kept his gaze at the ground.

"Fine." Axel sighed. If you really want to be a heartless then I'll grant your wish. At least then we'll get Roxas back and he'll go on usin' the keyblade."

"No!" Sora argued back. "I vowed never to use that thing again. That also goes for my nobody!"

"Why?" Axel demanded. "Why don't you want to use the best weapon you have? You probably wouldn't need any help at all if you just used it. I tried waiting for you to tell us on your own, but there's more people involved in this than I realized."

Sora blinked in confusion at this. He looked Axel in the eye and then noticed something. He had a gash on his cheek. It had scabbed over, but it was fresh.

"You weren't attacked by the town's defense system, were you." Sora replied.

Axel's eyes squinted slightly. "No, I wasn't."

Axel thought back to that battle with Cloud. It wasn't a very long battle. In fact, it lasted about a minute and thirty-five seconds. The soldier kept his word about not going easy. Yet, he was also unusually chatty during the fight.

* * *

><p><em>"So, who're you lookin' for if you didn't want to fight me?" Axel asked as he threw his chakram, always keeping one in his grasp should Cloud decide to close in for an attack.<em>

_"Sora." He replied, easily deflecting the weapon. _

_Axel smirked as he caught the weapon and threw the other one, giving it an extra spin. "Man, what is it with you people? He's a big boy now, he can take care of himself."_

_"As usual, you don't have a clue." Cloud replied. "The kid's become a danger to himself." He jumped out of the way to dodge the attack._

_"Since when did you start caring about others?"Axel asked as he tried for a close range attack. _

_Both chakram and blade clashed and pushed against the other. It was now a standoff. _

_"Like I said, you don't have a clue." _

_Axel smirked. "N'aww you do have a soft side. How cute."_

_Cloud pulled back suddenly, causing Axel to stumble. The soldier then closed in and slashed for Axel's throat. The nobody avoided a lethal blow, but took a hit to the cheek. He also managed to strike Cloud in the arm with his flames. _

_Cloud grunted slightly from the blast. The flame was a bit stronger than he had expected. Axel came at him again, but Cloud was ready. Taking the blunt end of his blade he side-stepped Axel and struck him in his side, sending him flying into a stack of wooden crates. _

_Cloud approached the broken wood where Axel tried to sit up, but that last blow had knocked the wind out of him. "The darkness is taking him. If that happens everything will be lost."_

_Axel tried again to sit up, but blacked out. When regained consciousness, Sora was there helping him out. He seemed like his normal self, but maybe Axel had been wrong._

* * *

><p>Axel glared at Sora. "Why are you running from your friends? And I want the truth!" He set Sora down and folded his arms, making sure he was between the teen and the door.<p>

Sora glared at Axel before he looked down at the palm of his hands. "Because,...I'm a danger to them."

"Don't give me that. you'd give your left arm to save your pals. Admit it, you're afraid! Afraid of facing that witch." Axel shouted.

"No, I'm not afraid of Maleficent." Sora replied.

"Then what is it?"

"I...hurt someone. They depended on me to save them and not only did I let them down, but I..."

Axel sighed. "Look, we can't always get there in time to save the day. No one's that perfect."

"You don't get it." Sora mumbled.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Axel asked, revealing that he had good ears. "I'm not stupid."

Sora walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair. Axel shook his head in defeat. "Guess he was right. The darkness is taking you." With that he turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "The real question is, are you going to let it?"

He waited a moment longer until it was clear Sora wasn't going to reply and then he left the kid alone with his thoughts.

Back on the bridge, Demyx was a nervous wreck. He had managed to keep the ship steady, but he really had to be careful. "How the heck does he make it look so easy? Boy did he pick the wrong guy for this."

"Quit your whining, I'm back." Axel replied as the door slid closed behind him. He walked over and took the controls from Demyx who happily gave Axel his seat back.

"How's Sora?" Demyx asked.

"Hopeless." Axel quickly replied.

The musical nocturne decided not to ask further.

. . .

Back in the room Sora was resting his head on the desk. His mind was wandering. Thinking back to the simple life he once had on Destiny Islands. Just an ordinary kid. Spending each day doing normal kid stuff. Sparring with Wakka, racing against Riku, fishing, climbing, laying on the beach doing absolutely nothing, Kairi constantly getting onto him for being lazy. . .

He halted his train of thought. What right did he have to think about his friendship of her? After the horrible thing he had done to her. It was all his fault. He should have been stronger, he should have seen that Maleficent was up to something. She wasn't stupid, but he was. He fell for her scheme and Kairi paid the price.

Why did the others have to save him? He should have resisted. Why didn't they let Maleficent end his suffering? Now he was doing nothing but making everything worse and causing more problems. They were true friends, but he wasn't. He had let them down. Why? Why did the Keyblade chose him? There had to be a reason. He refused to believe it was for this.

His fist clenched tightly at the thought. So tightly his hand was shaking. He suddenly stood up and slammed his fists onto the desk.

"It's Not Fair!" He shouted.

_"Life rarely is." _

Sora spun and looked around the room. That voice. He had heard it before, but where?

"Hello? Who's there?" He asked. He tried to remember, it sounded female.

The room remained empty and silent. Sora shook his head and turned to sit back down.

"Ahh!" Sora jumped back as the Cheshire Cat was laying curled up on the desk, grinning up at him with his tail swishing back and forth.

"Oh, I'm sorry," He purred. "Did you still want to be alone?"

Sora glared down at the cat. "What do you want? and this time I really do mean '_you_'." He added, remembering the last time he asked that question.

The cat giggled as he replied. "I was curious to see how you were faring. The game has really begun to get interesting. All of the pieces are lining up nicely."

Sora's mouth dropped open. "You, think this is a game?! People are suffering!"

The Cheshire Cat giggled once again. "Don't you know? War _is_ a game. Think of it as a large chess board. The leader is the king, the reason why they fight is the queen, the guards are the knights, the ace fighters are the castles the skillful planners are the rooks and everyone else is a pawn."

Sora was getting more frustrated by the minute.

"So," The cat asked. "Tell me Sora,..."

"Tell you what?" He asked.

"Which of your friends are the pawns?"

"What?!" Sora's anger was rising to a boil.

"You know, the throw away pieces that no one cares about. the ones who always get sacrificed. Could it be the soldier? No, he seems more like a knight. Perhaps it's Riku. Wait, he's better suited for a rook. The mage and the guardian are more like your castles. Hmm,...who would make the perfect pawn? Oh! Maybe it's a piece you've already thrown away? That girl. Kairi was her name? She'd be the perfect pawn."

"**GET OUT!**" Sora shouted at the top of his lungs. "Don't you **ever** call my friends pawns or throw-aways. I'd never treat them that way!"

The cat still grinned, but it seemed to change. Shifted somehow from goofy to satisfied. "Glad to hear it, but you sure have a funny way of showing you care. A king who runs in chess will get cornered by the enemy sooner or later and if the king is captured, well then, I'm afraid it's checkmate."

With that the cat disappeared. Sora suddenly felt so exhausted. Getting angry like that always took a lot out of him. But that anger wasn't without a purpose. It woke him up. He realized that he did care. He cared about his friends. Why else would he defend them like that? That's when he realized. Axel had done the same thing he just did. His anger was to get Sora to wake up. Now he was awake. Wide awake.

He didn't know how he was going to win without the keyblade, but he promised himself he would try. With a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves he opened the door and headed off to find the others.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Just whose side is that cat on?! Boy was this chapter an emotional roller coaster. but every character's gotta have their breaking point right? Though, who can say if his suffering is over. there are still quite a few mysteries floating around between the worlds. <em>**


	13. New Roads

_**Writing is a tricky thing. Sometimes it's soo easy, other times it's harder than a jaw breaker. Having a bad migraine can also play an annoying role, but a good writer never gives in. She keeps going - heading straight into the eye of the storm only to blow a razz-berry in its face, saying: Nyah-nyah! Okay, maybe not that much, but you get the picture. That's how the previous week has been for me. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All characters and locations belong to Disney and Square Enix.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

A few hours had passed since Riku revealed the fall of Disney Castle. In that time the members of the resistance were left to take the news as best they knew how.

Riku had refused to go back and rest even though he kept stumbling every few steps. It took Master Yen Sid to finally convince the boy to rest, though he wasn't happy about it.

Once she was sure he was asleep, Tifa headed off to find two others that she thought might need a hand.

Right after the meeting ended Donald and Goofy headed to the Garage. Something Yen Sid had created for the resistance fighter's vehicles. Goofy wanted to talk to Donald about what they had heard, but neither one of them wanted to break the tension-filled silence. It was just too painful.

Tifa found them as the duck was trying to busy himself with the Gummi Ship's repairs.

"How bad is the damage?"

"Not as bad as we first thought," replied Goofy as he handed Donald another tool.

"Not as bad? Not as bad?!" came Donald's reply as he slid out from underneath. "It's a train wreck! When I get my hands on Sora, I'll . . . " He continued to mumble, but his temper had made it impossible for the others to understand what he was saying.

"I just wish he'd come back," Goofy turned to Tifa, trying to hold back tears.

The story had bothered her too, but she tried her best to look optimistic in front of the others, especially these two. Despite his actions, Donald was just as heart-broken as Goofy was.

"He will," She smiled. "Cloud's not the type to give up. He'll being him back, even if he has to drag him back kicking and screaming."

Goofy tried to picture that image and let out a small chuckle. Donald however just folded his arms.

"Why won't Master Yen Sid let us look for him?"

"Because I have a different mission for you."

All three turned to see the master standing in the open doorway. He strode in while Donald stood up from the creeper and Goofy came to attention.

"Sir," Tifa started, "why don't you let them search for him? They know where he would go more than the rest of us. Wouldn't they have better luck? I don't think one person alone can find him so easily."

Yen Sid raised an eye brow at her. "So, you have lost your faith in Cloud?"

"No!" She quickly replied, "it's just that after what we heard, I'm worried about whats going through Sora's mind. I've seen what grief and self blame can do to a person, and I'm afraid something bad's going to happen to him. Even if Cloud finds him, will he really be the same?"

Yen Sid studied the expressions on each of their faces. Tifa had voiced what Donald and Goofy feared and he could see that they wanted to be there for him. Still, Yen Sid trusted what his visitor had said.

"One person is more than enough to bring Sora home. Considering who that person is, you should all have more faith. You can also rest assured that Sora will keep his promise, just as he always has."

"What promise?" Donald interrupted.

"The promise he made to Kairi," The master replied. "Right now, he is merely injured. Injuries take time to heal, but given enough time they will be no more than old scars barely worth mentioning."

The two still had their doubts, but they nodded. Tifa understood what the master was getting at, even if she didn't like it.

"So," Goofy asked, "What's our mission?"

"You are to head out and find the king. I imagine he may need some help out there. That corner of the galaxy may have a few worlds, but things are more dangerous over there then you may think."

"Even without the heartless?"Donald asked.

The master nodded. Raising his hand the Gummi Ship began to rise into the air. It was engulfed in a light blue orb before lowering back down. The light faded revealing the ship, completely restored.

Goofy admired the feat in awe while Donald wondered why he hadn't done that sooner.

Tifa smiled at the two. "Good luck."

With a nod from Goofy the two climbed into the ship and made ready to launch. Yen Sid stepped outside of the garage and with a powerful spell, opened a special gateway. One that connected to the far off reaches of the galaxy.

The Gummi Ship rose up before gliding out of the garage and vanished through the portal. A bright light flashed and the portal was gone.

"Think they'll be okay?" Tifa asked after the wind died down.

"They'll be fine, it's the rest of us that I'm worried about," he replied.

"We need something to cheer everyone up. A project we can all work on. Maybe we should start training, but Riku's still in no shape for that." While Tifa tried to come up with an idea, Yen Sid already had a solution.

_~*~STL~*~_

Cloud had planned to leave Radiant Garden and continue his search on another world, but something still bothered him. During the fight with Axel he was surprised the town's defense system hadn't kicked in to investigate what the commotion was. It made him wonder if the system was malfunctioning. So he decided to stop by Ansem's computer and check things over.

He normally wouldn't bother with it, but He'd never hear the end of it if Yuffie or Leon found out he was in the area and did nothing about it either. It was going out of his way, but it saved him a load of aggravation in the long run.

As he made his way through the maze-like halls and corridors he was surprised that there were no heartless, despite the place still looking like a crumbling dump. Entering through the door leading to Ansem's study it appeared the same as it did before. Everything was still scattered. Cloud began to wonder if this was just a waste of time. That's when he heard voices coming from the computer room.

"Sorry, I can't seem to find anything in the memory banks," Tron admitted.

"Still? Shoot. I thought rebooting the system might help, but if there really is nothing then, I don't know where to go from here." Leon was not having a good day.

"Still having trouble with computers I see."

Leon looked over to see Cloud standing in the entrance.

"Like you could do any better," Leon scoffed.

His snobbish attitude was just for show. Cloud replied with a small smirk.

"You're hopeless."

Leaning against the wall Cloud watched Leon resume his search. Tron tried to assist on his end, but both their efforts turned up nothing.

"I give up. If it was in here, it was erased long ago," Leon hung his head in defeat.

"What's got you so worked up?"

Leon looked over at Cloud, surprised he had taken an interest, but wondered if maybe he was looking for the same thing. Doubtful, but with Cloud you could never tell.

"When the MCP made the entire system go haywire, we found three ways to shut him down. One was manually by destroying the mainframe. That was a last resort, the second one was the method Sora used. He fought the MCP head on and won."

"And the third?" Cloud was getting impatient.

"The third was a back door where someone from the outside could get in using a special virus." Leon looked at the screen once more before finally throwing in the towel. "That virus is missing."

"I don't get what the problem is. The MCP is gone." Cloud neither understood nor cared too much about computers to worry about things like viruses or hackers. Let someone else be the techno wiz, he preferred using a sword to get things done.

"I may have found something," came Tron's voice.

"Go ahead," Leon replied.

"It seems that while Sora and I were fighting the MCP someone logged in from a different source and downloaded the virus before deleting the original."

"But, that's impossible. The virus was still in the system after Sora left. I checked it myself."

"I know Leon, my readings confirm the same. However, it apparently was set on a timer and when Hallow Bastion was restored to Radiant Garden that's when the virus was erased."

Leon suddenly wished there was a chair for him to collapse in. "This is not good."

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" Cloud asked, not really concerned, but not entirely heartless about it either.

"If that virus falls into the wrong hands, anyone could hack into this mainframe and do anything they want. Reprogram it to their own liking or worse, destroy the system entirely," Tron replied.

"But who all knows about this computer?" Leon thought aloud as he leaned against the computer's keyboard.

"Think Maleficent's got something to do with it?" Cloud asked.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. She's too busy worrying about taking over the other worlds. She wouldn't bother with a world that still rebuilding," Leon replied.

That's when he realized something. "Why are you here anyway? Computers aren't your usual M.O."

"I doubt you'd know anything. You've been too busy with the computer, you didn't even notice the defense system was down," replied the soldier.

"It what?!"

"I warned you that might happen," Tron told Leon.

"There aren't any heartless around are there?" Leon asked the computer.

Tron did a quick scan. "Nope. No heartless spotted currently in Radiant Garden or during the restart. However, there was one reported nobody."

Tron brought up the footage from the security system. It showed the battle between Axel and Cloud.

"You certainly like to break things," Leon commented, glancing over at Cloud who kept his eyes closed. He wasn't interested in seeing himself in action.

"Well I'll be. I thought those two were enemies."

Leon's comment caught Cloud's attention. A few minutes after the soldier had left the battle, there, helping Axel out of the rubble was Sora.

"I'm glad to know the rescue plan worked, but why is he with-?" Leon looked around the room, but Cloud was already gone.

"Some things never change." Leon shook his head and went back to work.

. . .

Cloud mounted Fenrir which he had parked just outside. He already had a hunch that Axel knew where Sora was, but he didn't realize that the kid was traveling with him. That nobody Cloud had spotted at the outside diner had clued the soldier in that the Organization was around, but he never expected that outcome.

"Clever move."

Fenrir started up and the glowing blue path formed outward and upward, leading away from Radiant Garden.

_~*~STL~*~_

Aided by Mulan, Riku made it to the main meeting hall where everyone had gathered.

Phil waited for the kid to sit down before starting. "Alright, we're all here, what'd ya want?"

Tifa pulled out a large white board and some colored markers. "We are the Resistance against Maleficent. If we want to make it official, we need an official name. Something that's catchy, but it's got to reflect what we represent. Now, we're going to abbreviate the words so it's also gotta be something that forms a word that makes sense. Something that will really blow our enemies out of the water."

"How about the good guys?" Riku suggested sarcastically. He was finally getting some quality sleep and being woken up like he had put him in a bad mood.

Tifa shook her head with a smile. "Come on guys, we're all smart. We can think of something good."

"How about Justice Force?" Aladdin suggested.

Tifa wrote it down. "Not bad, anyone else?"

"Fangs of Light," declared the Beast.

Soon the ideas started flowing in.

"Swords of Honor"

"Worlds Against Witches"

"Dispellers of Darkness"

"Champions of Hope"

Tifa was starting to run out of room. "These are great, but they don't really form a word that we could use to represent the whole thing."

"Well, why don't we start with the word first?" Suggested the Pumpkin King.

"Okay," Tifa replied, "any ideas for a word?"

"Sora."

Everyone turned to looked at Jack Sparrow. He quickly looked behind him before realizing they were focused on him.

"What?" he asked before realizing he probably said something stupid. "I know, go back to the galley and do somethin' useful. I'm off."

"Wait," Tifa called.

Jack stopped in his tracks. "Aye?"

"What made you suggest Sora?"

The pirate turned around, feeling a little defensive. "Well, the lad was the reason we all came together wasn't it? To liberate him from his dark and lonely purgatory?"

The others turned towards Tifa and she saw the same realization on their faces that she herself felt. He was exactly right.

"Alright, Sora it is. Now, what words for each letter?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>You know how much it bugged me for them not to have a better name then just "The Resistance"? A whole lot. It's about time it got a decent name. Fortunately I have one. ^^<strong>_

_**EDIT: I almost forgot to thank ElectroNerd. The setting for the scene with Cloud, Leon and Tron was her idea. Thank you. :)**_


	14. The Deal

_**I apologize for the wait. I hit a road block in the story and had to re-write this chapter because a character I wanted to use wasn't going to work out. Plus there were a few details I was juggling around to see which idea I liked best. This chapter was originally a lot longer, but I had to shorten it because it had too much talking. **_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. **_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen<strong>

Pete was treading through the palace with the utmost caution. He was trying to avoid Maleifecent at any cost. Ever since Riku's escape she had been on a warpath. The worst part was that it was Pete's fault, but he couldn't bring himself to understand how. He tried to warn her. He tried to stop them. If she hadn't lost her temper and trusted him then they might have recaptured the kid plus added four more prisoners.

They could have interrogated them and found out the base of the resistance. After that it'd be easy to wipe them out. But she had to go and attack him right when he was about to send in a squad of sky pirate heartless and take the ship.

"Oh, this is dumb!" He shouted as he stood out from around the corner.

"Why am I sneakin' around? This is my castle now too!"

A heartless came around the corner and by force of habit, Pete ducked into a doorway. When he realized it wasn't the witch he let out a deep sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?" Came a demanding voice.

Pete turned white as a sheet. Standing behind him was Maleficent.

"Er-well, that is, I, ya see, I was just,-"

"Enough!"

Her staff slammed down onto the stone floor, its sharp echo carried down through the halls.

"You've already ruined whatever small chance you had at becoming my second in command. There is only way to restore my faith in you."

"Let me guess, go out and find the keyblade runt," he grumbled.

"I'm relieved your not completely brainless," she replied with mock concern. "Go! And don't you dare return without Sora, I want him alive."

"Y-yes ma'am!" With that Pete opened a corridor of darkness and dashed through it, not daring to look back. The portal closed behind him.

Maleficent raised a hand to the side of her head to gently rub her temple. "Why must I be surrounded by incompetent fools?"

"I could lend my assistance, _if_ you ask nicely."

Maleficent turned to see who had spoken. When she recognized who it was she tried very hard not to roll her eyes in disgust.

_~*~STL~*~_

Demyx had tried keeping himself busy, but it was hard. Axel had kept silent for the past hour. No matter what Demyx tried, he would not look away from the screen - only replying to him once, threatening to break his saiter which the younger nobody had tried to play to ease the tension.

The door to the cockpit slid open as Sora slowly made his way inside.

Demyx glanced his way before glancing back towards the pilot's seat which didn't budge.

Sora looked over at Demyx, the expression on his face asking if Axel was in a listening mood.

Demyx simply shook his head. Not a good sign. Still, Sora had to try.

"A-Axel?"

"Destiny Islands will be coming up soon. We'll drop you off there," replied Axel, coldly.

"What?!" Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was taking him home? But he couldn't go back yet. Not without Riku or, . . . -not until this battle was settled.

"I'm not going."

Axel huffed. "What good are you if you refuse to fight?"

"I didn't say I refused to fight. I'm just not going to use the keyblade."

Demyx looked at Sora and smiled. "I think he's serious this time, Ax."

Silence filled the room. After what seemed like forever, Sora let out a defeated sigh and turned to leave.

"On one condition."

Sora stopped and turned back around. "What?"

Axel turned and pointed an accusing finger at the teen. "If you even think about giving up or running away I'll turn you into a heartless myself. Deal?"

Sora smiled. "Deal."

"Okay then, where do we head to now? We can't go back to Hollow Bastion," Demyx voiced.

"Radiant Garden." Sora and Axel corrected him in unison.

"Alright, alright, Radiant Garden. Sheesh. My point is, there aren't a lot of safe places for us to go."

"We could go to Twilight Town and stay at a hotel," Sora suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Demyx added.

Axel allowed himself a smirk. "Alright then, Twilight Town it is."

The Flaring Comet turned and headed in the opposite direction and away from Destiny Islands which had just come into view. Sora took one last look at it. Vowing he would never return until this nightmare was over.

_~*~STL~*~_

Maleficent sat down on her newly decorated throne. Hades was standing on the top step in front of her. The large empty ballroom filled with dark energy.

"You make an interesting case. Offering to destroy the resistance and retrieve Sora? Tell me, what's in it for you?"

"Let's just say I've got a score to settle with the little hero," he replied. His flaming blue hair threatening to turn red at the memory of the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of the key bearer.

Maleficent studied him. She had witnessed his failures several times and wasn't sure if she could rely on him anymore.

"Wait a moment."

Hades folded his arms. "What?"

Maleficent stood from the throne and approached the lord of the dead. She knew his offers always came with a catch.

"What is your price?

Hades gave a low chuckle. "Okay, you got me. There's one smug little punk who joined the ranks of the resistance and let's just say, he still has a contract with me."

Maleficent raised an interested eye brow at this. "That's all? One rebel as your prisoner?" She walked over to the side to look into a mirror. She waved her hand in front of it and revealed the events that unfolded during Sora's rescue.

"Which rebel are you seeking?"

Hades walked over and watched the mirror. He was a bit impressed with Jack Skellington's fire powers, but he wasn't the one who broke the contract.

"That's the chump, right there!"

He pointed to the fighter. Maleficent couldn't hide an evil chuckle. "Very well. That rebel shall be yours. As long as you promise that he will suffer."

A dark smile crawled up the villain's face, revealing his jagged teeth. "Don't you worry yourself about that. The Underworld has plenty of tortures, some I haven't even tried yet and he'll be the perfect guinea pig to test 'em."

With that Hades turned to leave to begin his search. Maleficent watched him go, she still had her doubts, but she also wanted to see Hades' chosen victim suffer. Should Hades fail in his mission she would personally see to it that he suffered in the fighter's place.

As Hades walked past a room with the door opened just a crack. A scared and defeated captive looked up from her prison. She had caught a glimpse of the villain and he scared her. She had heard everything, but was unable to do anything to help.

Looking out the window she scanned the night sky wondering where her beloved was in that vast universe. "Oh Mickey, where are you?"

She pulled out something she had held on to for weeks now. It was the only thing that gave her hope, she only wished that its owner would be able to help her once again. She kept the item close to her heart.

_~*~STL~*~_

A short time later The Flaring comet touched down in the wooded area just outside of the mansion. Demyx looked at it through the ship's window. "Boy, that place has sure seen better days. Who lived there?"

Sora shrugged. "The inside's pretty run down as well. Ansem the Wise used it as base when he was trying to restore my memories. It's also where I woke up. I don't really remember much before that."

Demyx reflected on that for a moment before turning over towards Axel. "Wait, wasn't that when the whole Castle Oblivion thing went down?!"

"It's a long story," Axel replied. "Let's just say the Organization failed and move on. There's no point dwelling on the past."

Sora felt a pang of anger overcome him for a moment. It was as if some hidden voice was shouting a harsh objection. Sora understood the feeling of hurt and translated it to the fiery nobody.

"I won't let her memory fade. She was real."

Axel turned to look at Sora. Surprise plain on his face, until he realized what was going on. It wasn't Sora who had said this, it was Roxas.

"Sorry, Roxas. You know I didn't mean it that way about her. I meant the reason as a whole. She was just a tragic victim of Xemnas' schemes."

The anger seemed to dissipate at this comment and Sora took a slow, deep breath. "That was weird."

Axel smiled. "Well, it's nice to know he really is in there somewhere."

Demyx looked back and forth between the two. "Did I miss something here?"

_**. . .**_

The two nobodies followed Sora as he traveled through the busy town. It was a bit more active than usual which surprised the teen. He assumed with the heartless population on the rise everyone would be avoiding going out in public. Axel and Demyx told Sora there were a few things they needed to get and that they would meet up at the clock tower in a few hours.

Sora made sure to steer clear of the ice cream shop. Knowing that Hayner and the gang would probably be heading there for some Sea Salt ice cream. Instead he headed over to one of the other venders.

"Good day young man, what can I do for you?" asked the shop keeper.

"I'm looking for a weapon," Sora began, "Not too big or small and easy to use against a large crowd of enemies."

"My my, it sounds as if you're going off to war, the way you talk."

"Well, not really, I've just had a couple of bad run ins with heartless."

The shop keeper adjusted his glasses as he got up and examined his stock. "What kind of weapon did you have in mind? I've got a spiked mace that was taken from a Gargoyle Warrior and I also have a Dragoon's Lance in my possession."

"A normal sword would be fine," replied Sora.

The shop keeper chuckled. "You won't find any normal weapons here, my friend. I only sell special weapons. Ones that come from heartless monsters or creatures without hearts. I also take pride in selling weapons with added abilities."

Sora looked at his munny bag. He only had 600 munny on him, courtesy of Demyx. "What do you have for 600?"

"Hmm, let me see."

The shop keeper went farther back into the shop and looked over at the swords he had collected over the years. He scanned through them until he found three that he thought might interest his customer.

"Try one of these." He laid them out on the counter for Sora to examine.

Sora picked up the first one. The hilt was a bit awkward and didn't have the right balance. He tried the second one. The blade was a bit too heavy to wield easily. If he ended up in a tight spot it might slow him down. The last one however, was flawless. The hilt felt as if it was made for him and the blade was a perfect balance.

Sora swung the weapon to test it. The blade hummed in the air, singing a song of doom to anyone who got in its path. Sora looked down at the price and saw it was 800 munny.

"This one is perfect, but I only have 600."

"Don't worry about it. You seem like a good kid and if heartless are around, you will need a blade you can count on."

"Thanks!" Sora gave him the munny and started to walk away when the shop keeper called to him. "Wait, do you even know what that sword's ability is?"

Sora walked back over and listened to the man. "That blade has a special name, because it has two abilities. One power is easy to summon. The power of wind. Good for getting you out of a tight spot, however it has a second ability that not every can use."

"Yeah?"

"Yes indeed. At first I wanted to call the sword Hikari Kaze, but that only confused my costumers. So I put it in the back until I could come up with a better name. When I first saw you boy, you seemed a bit down. However, when you picked up that sword I saw a sparkle in your eyes. And a new name came to me just like that. I'm naming it Phoenix."

"Phoenix?" Sora repeated as he looked at the sword.

"Yes, it's a mystical bird of fire that is reborn from its own ashes. An eternal being that will always rises from defeat. I have a feeling this sword will no doubt help you rise from your own defeats."

Sora held back a chuckle. If only this guy knew what he had gone through. Still, this sword was a perfect replacement for the keyblade. In a way, it didn't feel any different. Sure it couldn't unlock doors, but at least he wouldn't have to resort solely to magic when cornered by heartless again.

"Thanks, I 'll remember that," replied Sora as he headed off.

"Good bye," the man called out to him, "and good luck."

He turned when he felt someone's presence behind him. "How did I do?"

"You did great, thank you," replied the hidden speaker as they tossed a small bag on the desk. "Here's the rest of the payment." With that they vanished into a corridor of darkness.

The shop keeper opened the bag and pulled out 200 munny.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I promise there will be more action coming soon. Sora's got his new sword so you can be sure he won't just carry it around for show. Also, I want to know what you think about the new cover. I've had it for a while, but couldn't decided if I liked it better then the original cover. Tell me what you think of it in the comment section. I don't mind either way. I like both covers and can change it back if this new one isn't that great.<br>**_

_**Oh, and that stranger coming from the corridor of darkness? It's Kairi. **_

_**. **_

_**. **_

_**.**_

_**APRIL FOOL'S! xD  
><strong>_


	15. Racing across Space and Against Time

_**I guess these updates come in two's and three's. But, there's some action in this chapter, just like I promised. I forgot how much fun it was writing a battle scene, not to mention easy. I must make a note to add more battle scenes, then again there will be plenty throughout the story from here on out, so no worries there. ^^**_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen<strong>

Cloud was on his way to Agrabah next. He had heard from Aladdin that it was a good place for someone to hide who didn't want to be found. It seemed like the next best place to look. The glowing blue road had gone undetected by the heartless so far. Proving that Cid could do something right every once in a while.

As usual the area he was traveling through was peaceful and quite. Considering he was traveling through space it wasn't surprising. Despite the urgency of his mission, Cloud was feeling oddly relaxed. With how frantic everything was back at Yen Sid's place, it was a relief to be out in the open and away from everyone.

Looking up at the endless sky above him, he didn't noticed the heartless until they were right on top of him. A soldier heartless jumped and landed on top of Fenrir, preparing to unleash its claws on Cloud. What the creature failed to notice was the sword coming down on it before it was too late.

The hidden compartments on either side of the motorcycle opened up and Cloud had already taken two of the swords and combined them. He also wielded the smallest of the swords separately. The soldier heartless were dropping like flies before his swords. Cloud thought that the fact that they were called 'soldiers' was a joke. the only thing they had going for them was their numbers. For every heartless he struck down three more took its place. Cloud looked at the road ahead and noticed the heartless were trying to attack the road itself.

Revving up Fenrir, he tore past where the heartless had weakened the structure. It did little good. More heartless appeared further down and started attacking a new section. The soldiers had been scraping at its glowing surface with such determination that it was beginning to crack like glass.

Cloud pushed Fenrir as fast as it would go. At a top speed of 250 mph it didn't take him long to reach the heartless. Unfortunately right as he was about to pass over it a Large Body came crashing from above and body-slammed the path. The road shattered like glass. Cloud skidded the bike - trying to stop, but it was going too fast and the soldier fell into the abyss of open space.

_~*~STL~*~_

It surprised Donald how quickly the Gummi Ship had arrived in the distant galaxy, but he doubted getting back would be as easy. It never was.

"Start looking for the king's ship on the scanners."

Goofy nodded as he began scanning the radar for anything that resembled a ship close to theirs. This definitely was a strange region of space. None of the worlds looked the same as the others and yet there was something familiar about it to him. Like running into an old forgotten friend at the grocery store.

They didn't say it out loud, but Donald felt the same. There was a strong connection here. Like a twenty year old forgotten memory. Something even time itself had forgotten.

"I've got something!" Goofy's shout brought Donald back to reality.

"Give me the coordinates," the duck replied.

When they got there, sure enough it was another Gummi Ship. But something was wrong, the ship seemed damaged.

Aiding on the side of caution, Donald connected the two ships together by hovering above the other ship and attaching the connection arm, which was basically a tube with a ladder.

"I'll go first, you follow."

Making his way over to the connection tube, Donald readied himself for anything. Best case scenario, they would find the King, worse case, . . .Donald didn't even want to think about it.

When Donald reached the bottom he took a deep breath to gather his thoughts and calm his nerves.

"One . . .two . . .three!" The hatch opened and Donald jumped in, his staff held at the ready. Goofy watched from the top of the latter, ready to jump in if needed.

After a minute of silence he began to worry. "What do you see, Donald?"

The duck looked around the cockpit some more. "It's empty!" He shouted back. "Come on down here."

The knight carefully made his way into the second ship and held up his shield, just as wary as Donald.

"Gawrsh, this place sure is spooky."

"Let's check the engine room." Donald made his way towards the ladder leading to the lower level. There was one thing Donald noticed that made him nervous. This ship was way too similar to his own, giving further evidence that it was the king's. Goofy followed.

Once in the larger room it was clear that something was wrong with the engines. The sounds they were making reminded Donald of an old car engine that was running on its last legs. The whining and the high-pitch sound of broken gears told him it was a miracle the engines were running at all.

"I don't like this," the mage voiced aloud.

Goofy was in full agreement. He kept peering over his shoulder, expecting something to jump out at them at any moment.

"Whak!"

Donald's surprised shout caused Goofy to jump three feet into the air.

"You're majesty!"

Donald was rushing to the king's side. The mouse in question was lying on his stomach, face down. Out cold.

Donald gently turned him over and sighed with relief. The king was still breathing.

"Gawrsh, is he okay?"

"I don't know," replied Donald.

Goofy looked around the room. There was evidence of a fight.

"Somethin' bad happened here."

A sudden beeping caught his attention. Looking for its source, Goofy approached the ship's power source. He found a strange device with a timer. It took him a moment to realize what it was.

"Donald!"

The mage looked up and his eyes grew wide. The timer was counting down!

_'2:37 . . .2:36 . . .2:35 . . .'_

The two went into action. Carrying the king gently between them they made their way back to the entrance hatch.

Two minutes had passed by the time they had gotten back aboard their own ship. Donald made a mad dash for the controls.

Disconnecting the arm, Donald kicked the engines into high gear.

The Gummi ship raced away from the doomed vessel. fifteen seconds later a bright blue flash lit up the space behind the gummi ship. Donald's eyes grew wide as he quickly diverted all power to the shields.

"Brace yourself, Goofy!"

Goofy was more concerned for the king as he kept him stable on the pue-like seat towards the rear.

The blast caught up with them quickly and rocked the ship a bit, but thanks to Donald's quick thinking with the shields, the ship was a bit shaken up, but otherwise unscathed.

Donald let out a relieved sigh as he got up and headed back to check on the king.

Goofy looked up at his friend. "Looks like Master Yen Sid was right to send us when he did."

Donald agreed. Had they left a few minutes later, . . .he didn't even want to think about it.

"I wonder what coulda happened?" Goofy voiced his thought aloud.

"Someone wanted the king out of the way," Donald replied. "We better keep our eyes peeled."

_~*~STL~*~_

Sora felt a bit awkward carrying the new sword around. The problem wasn't the blade. Sora had been in such a hurry that he forgot to ask if it came with a sheath. He never had to worry about it with the keyblade, but unlike his destined weapon, this sword didn't vanish when he no longer needed it.

For the moment he tried carrying it through the crowd of busy shoppers, trying not to seem intimidating with the sword being carried at the ready in his hand.

Demyx was just headed out of a music shop, or rather he was kicked out by the shop's owner.

"And don't come back!"

Demyx rubbed the back of his head in pain from where he laid on the ground before shouting a few choice words in response. "Don't worry, I won't!" Was the only clean sentence that came from his mouth. "Man, I knew I was spending too much time around Xigbar. Not my fault though. Stupid Siax and his assignments," he grumbled as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"What was that all about?" Came Sora's voice from behind the blonde nobody.

Demyx turned and whistled at the new weapon the kid was sporting. "Whoa, Nice blade!"

Sora smirked as he glanced down at his new sword. "So, where's Axel?" he asked looking around.

"He headed over to the clock tower already. I was just trying to get some new sheet music for my saiter, but that lamo shop keeper inside started bashin' on the saiter, saying he hated that instrument and refused to sell anything for it. Hmph, close-minded jerk."

Sora shook his head with a smile. "C'mon, let's get to the tower."

Axel was sitting on the ledge of the clock tower. A Sea Salt ice cream bar half eaten in his hand. He was looking out over the tracks, lost in his thoughts. He didn't notice Sora and Demyx until they were sitting next to him.

"You okay?" asked Demyx.

"Huh? Y-yeah, just letting my mind wander a bit." He looked over at them, noticing Sora's new sword. "Think you remember how to swing a sword?"

Sora stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "I can use it just fine. It hasn't been that long."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say."

"I'll prove it if you want me to."

Axel smirked as he finished his ice cream in one bite. "Okay then. Let's head back to the woods, we'll have a sparing match there."

_**. . .**_

Sora stood at the ready, the sword clutched loosely, yet ready in his hands. Not wanting to voice it out loud, but it was strange using a different weapon other than the keyblade. He tried not to let it show to the others, but he was feeling a bit nervous.

Axel stood about twenty feet from him, his chakrams appeared in his hands. "Ready or not Sora, here I come!"

He came at the young teen, who instinctively dodged-rolled out of the way. He had spent so much time running lately, that it had become habit. _"No! I promised I would try!"_ Sora thought as he turned and swung the sword back at Axel who blocked it with one of his chakrams.

"Not bad, at least you're trying." Axel shoved him back with a wave of heat. "But, try harder."

Axel was going easy on him and Sora knew it. It irked him. He knew someone like Maleficent wouldn't go easy on him, so why was it suddenly so hard to fight? Was it because he wasn't using the keyblade? Or, was he still afraid? Afraid after the what happened the last time. . .no, he had to stop dwelling on that. As much as it hurt, he was no use to anyone if he couldn't get over his past.

He thought back to the name the shop keeper had given the sword as his words came back to him. _"The Phoenix is a mystical bird that rises from its own ashes."_

It was time for Sora to do the same.

Axel tossed both of his chakrams at Sora. "Head's up!" He shouted, noticing the kid was lost in his thoughts.

"Keep your head in the game!" Demyx called from the sidelines.

Sora jumped up to avoid the first spinning blade as it zipped past and struck back at the second that was coming in fast from his right. The chakram was sent sailing into the canopy where it buried itself in one of the higher branches.

Sora took this chance to rush an attack on Axel. He got two hits in before the other chakram came back and Axel used it to block the rest of the combo. "Not bad." He commented as he pushed back, sending Sora skidding back a few feet.

The teen recovered and tried another attack. He lept into the air and brought the sword down. Axel side-stepped it and struck Sora in the back, sending him skidding face-first in the dirt. Sora stood up and spat out grass and gravel from his mouth. He turned to strike back at Axel when he noticed the nobody was nowhere in sight.

Looking up, he saw that Axel was taking this chance to retrieve his other chakram. Sora went into action and followed Axel up the tree. He wasn't about to give his opponent a bigger advantage then he already had. Giving an extra burst of speed, Sora caught up to the nobody, but he was just a few seconds too late. Axel freed his chakram and jumped away from the tree. The blades started spinning in mid-air as fire began to spiral around them.

"Try blocking this!"

Axel fired a blast of flames which spiraled towards Sora.

Seeing a chance for a possible counter-strike, Sora launched himself away from the tree and aimed straight for the attack. reacting more on instinct than anything, Sora began swinging the blade in a circular motion above his head. When the flames got close enough Sora made his move. He pointed the tip of the blade right at the flames. As flame met steel a strong blast of wind burst forth and swirled around the area. The flames were carried along the wind and struck the nearest trees igniting them into a fiery blaze.

The blast also sent Axel and Sora flying. Both of them landing on either side of the clearing.

Sora was first to recover and began to panic when he saw the trees burning. He looked over at Demyx who was freaking out. "Don't just stand there!" he shouted, "you have water powers! Use 'em!"

"Oh right!" the nobody replied as he summoned his saiter. "Dance Water, Dance!"

He summoned several water clones who rushed towards the trees, colliding with the flames with a hiss as they made contact. It only took a few minutes, but the melody ended as the last water clone doused the only remaining hot spot. Demyx stopped playing and wiped his forehead with the back of his head. "Phew, that almost ended badly."

As the smoke cleared, Sora looked over at the other side of the clearing, Axel still hadn't gotten up yet. Worried for his friend, Sora rushed to his side.

"Axel!"

But the nobody was fully awake and, . . .smiling?!

"Now _**that**_ was fun."

Sora let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the fiery red-head was alright. Axel sat up and brushed off his sleeve. "I admit, I had my doubts, Sora, but you haven't lost your touch."

"It wasn't me, it was the sword," he replied looking down at the blade. "The guy who sold it to me said it has the power over wind."

"Pfft, a weapon doesn't make the warrior. you gotta know how to tap into its power." Axel replied.

Sora helped Axel back on his feet as he surveyed the damage. "Not my biggest fire, but it's close."

"You're actually keeping score?" Demyx asked. He suddenly ducked as a fireball came flying his way.

_~*~STL~*~_

Cloud's world was spinning. The last thing he remembered was falling into the endless regions of space. His head hurt and his vision was blurry. He could only see colors and foggy shapes. He felt cold, but at least he was laying on something solid. He heard muffled voices from somewhere.

Two figures came into his line of sight. One, he made out was skinny with blue-ish grey skin and red hair. The other was heavy-set with a red outfit and something white covering his face. He tried to focus on them, but everything faded to black as he lost consciousness again.

Sally looked down at the man. "His injuries look bad. Do you think you can help him, Mr. Clause?"

The man in the red suit looked concerned. "My elves have more experience in healing then I do, perhaps with the help of some of your healing herbs and their knowledge, but let's hurry and get him out of the cold."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Yes, I did my research. Fenrir can go that fast and after seeing it in action in Advent Children, I don't doubt it. The fight scene was actually inspired by the battle Cloud fought in the tunnel against those two silver-haired thugs. I forget their names, 'cept for Kadaj who was their leader. I haven't decided on a name for Sora's new attack. Then again I was writing the battle scene at 5 in the morning. I'm surprised I was even awake at that hour. I'm not really an early bird. :_**

**_Next chapter coming soon. _**


	16. Fear

_**Some chapters are so easy, but this chapter was a pain. I had to re-write it twice. The second time because my computer decided to restart on me and when it came back on, the file was totally wiped. TT~TT So, if this chapter seems a bit rushed or short it's because of that. It was originally a lot longer and more detailed. It's still a good chapter though. Hope you enjoy. **_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. **_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen<strong>

Tifa folded her arms as she proudly looked at what the group had made. The Resistance's new name was S.O.R.A. Each letter stood for its own word that stood for everything they fought to protect in honor of the person who had helped them without any regard for his own well-being. Even Riku, who had been grumpy before, was impressed. He secretly wished his best friend was here to see this unfold.

The words that the group had originally placed under each letter didn't exactly fit. Not until Scrooge chimed in with his good common sense. "Are ya all this dim-witted? The word spells out the lad's name. Don't ya think that the other words should reflect him?"

This got everyone to reconsider their ideas and soon more fitting words came forth. Tifa wrote them down and together the group voted on which word fit best. Finally they had achieved a new name and with it, a new hope.

"Now, when Sora gets back and see's this it might just help him go back to being the cheerful, carefree kid we all know and love," said Tifa as she set the marker down.

This was met with applause. The clock on the far wall began to toll, signalling that it was Eleven O'clock. It made Riku remember how tired he was as he failed to stifle a yawn. "Well, that's one battle taken care of." He said as he got up to leave.

"Wait," Tifa called as a few others started to leave as well. "Tomorrow we all start training. I know we don't have much to go on, nor do we have any proper battle strategies yet, but we need to be ready."

This was met with murmurs of agreement. Phil approached Tifa. "Just let me know what kind of training you have planned and I'll set it up in the mornin'. I may not be the kid's trainer no more or Herk's for that matter, but I still know how to train winners."

Tifa nodded her thanks with a smile as she watched him follow the others out. That was when she noticed Riku heading in the opposite direction of his room. He was headed outside. Tifa followed about twenty steps behind.

Once outside, Riku sat down on the front steps of the Master's house. He folded his arms on top of his knees and looked up at the sky.

"You alright?"

He looked behind him to see Tifa standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I just needed some fresh air."

She took the chance to sit down next to him. "If something's bothering you, you can tell me. I'll keep it a secret."

Riku kept silent, staring ahead into the front yard.

"I know you must've gone through some pretty rough torment as well. Sora tried to keep his suffering to himself, but in the end it overtook him."

Riku blinked in surprise and glanced at her as she continued.

"It was painful seeing him like that. I wanted to help, but I was forced to look away. Seeing him suffering like that, it made me want to shed tears for him. He doesn't deserve to go through this, neither do you and I don't want to see you end up like that."

"That man with the Silver hair, . . ." Riku started, "I wanted to rush in and attack him, but something held me back. Something I thought I had gotten rid of long ago."

"What was that?" she asked.

"Fear."

Riku leaned his back against the stone wall. "I had a chance to get in a surprise attack and Instead I froze."

"Sephiroth does have that effect on people," Tifa replied with a sad tone.

"It wasn't him that scared me though, it was. . ." Riku pictured that moment. When he was too terrified to move. Kairi trapped, and Sora, on his knees bleeding? Defeated? Riku had seen his best friend take down several fearsome and powerful opponents. Yet, he was brought to his knees by this one man?"

Tifa couldn't hear his thoughts, but she seemed to understand.

"Cloud used to have trouble fighting too."

Riku raised an eye brow at her. It was obvious he didn't believe her.

Tifa nodded with a small smile. "It's true. He used to just, not be around. He wouldn't answer his calls, he'd avoid everyone. Sometimes he'd go away for months at a time. He sorta closed himself off from the world. He thought he was protecting everyone that way."

"What made him change?" asked Riku.

"It wasn't easy. In fact, it took the threat of Sephiroth coming back to help him realize what mattered. There was a huge battle and we all helped him defeat a powerful enemy. Just by giving him our support and lending him a bit of our strength."

"And then what? He was fine after that?"

"Well, no. He still had to fight Sephiroth on his own," she admitted, "but he knew that we were always close by if he needed us."

"I'm guessing he lost the fight. If Sephiroth is still around." Riku was beginning to understand why he had feared rushing in blindly to attack the fighter.

"Actually, Cloud won. Sephiroth went away. But, before he vanished Sephiroth told him that he wanted to know what Cloud cherished most so he could take it away from him."

The memory came rushing back to Riku. Sora, laying on the ground, badly injured when their combined attack had failed. Sephiroth approached Sora and pricked the end of his sword against Sora's throat. _"Tell me, what is it you cherish most?"_

Riku's fist clenched tightly. Tifa's concern for him only grew. "Riku?"

"Sephiroth asked Sora the same question."

Tifa's worry grew. She didn't want to make Riku feel worse than he already was, but she knew that wasn't a good sign. "Did he ever say why he attacked Sora?"

Riku shook his head. "When I first got there, he was trying to convince Sora that he was weak and he didn't have the power to save anyone."

"He gets in your head, makes you doubt yourself." Tifa repeated what Cloud had told her long ago.

The weight of the situation just got a whole lot heavier and Tifa found herself breaking under the pressure. Standing up she stretched with a loud yawn. "Well then, We'll just have to train and get stronger, so we can go find him and teach him to stay out of people's heads." She turned to face Riku with a big smile.

Riku knew what she was trying to do. Sora had done the same thing for him countless times before. With a smirk he took her hand, which she had held out to help him stand.

"Right, Training starts tomorrow." he replied before his strength gave out and he fell forward. Tifa caught him. "Or the day after." he added sheepishly.

Tifa let out a giggle as she helped him back upstairs to his room.

_~*~STL~*~_

King Mickey slowly opened his eyes. He felt sore all over, and he wanted to go back to sleep. Reality soon dawned on him and he jolted up into a sitting position. "Oh no! the engines!"

He jumped up and started for the latter that led down to the engine room.

"Your Majesty!" Donald called.

"Not now, Donald. I've gotta- . . .Donald?!" He turned to see the duck piloting the ship with Goofy sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Goofy? What are you two doing here?" asked the king, surprised.

"Master Yen Sid sent us," replied Goofy.

"He said you might need a hand getting more recruits." Donald added.

"Well, I appreciate the help fellas. I managed to get help from two worlds already."

Goofy and Donald exchanged looks before frowning in disappointment.

"Only two?"

"Well," the King scratched the back of his head, "I would have probably been back by now if that villain hadn't attacked my ship. He snuck on board and attacked the engines directly. When I got down there he was swinging a sledge-hammer."

"Gawrsh, doesn't sound like anyone we know," said Goofy.

"I've read about him," replied the king. "I did some research on this part of the galaxy before coming here. In one of the worlds I visited there's a villain who specializes in weapons and explosions. It wasn't long after I left that world that I was attacked."

The king looked out the window. "So, where's my ship? I should probably get started on the repairs."

"Um, your majesty, I hate to tell you, but . . ." Donald gulped. "It exploded."

Mickey's expression slowly shifted from cheerful to shocked to sadness and finally to understanding. "Well, there's nothing to be done about it now. What matters is that no one got hurt."

He approached the map that Goofy had displayed on the screen. "I've already been to these two worlds and I was on my way to this one next when I was attacked."

Mickey pointed to the screen. The world in question seemed to be covered in tall buildings and appeared to be split between night and day.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Donald as he set a course for the new world.

A little while later they arrived outside of the new world. Goofy read the description. "Manhattan Island" he read aloud.

Mickey approached the dash-board and opened a communication channel.

"Who are you calling, your majesty?" asked Donald.

"I managed to get in contact with someone down there and I believe she can help."

There was nothing but static. Mickey adjusted the tuning and called into the speaker. "Hello? Officer Maza? It's Mickey, can you hear me? Come in!"

More static.

Mickey was about to try again when a female voice chimed in. "I read you Mickey, everything alright? I heard a commotion and then the line went dead."

The king smiled. "I'm alright, just had a little engine trouble."

Donald raised an eye brow at the king, but said nothing. The king continued. "I have two friends with me and they're trust-worthy, you said you knew someone who could help me?"

"Yes, but we have to meet in person first. My friends aren't the type that take well to complete strangers." the officer replied.

"I understand. We'll meet you outside of the station." The king waited for her to agree before he ended the call. "Well fellas, what are we waiting for?"

_~*~STL~*~_

Pete made his way around Radiant Garden, being careful not to be spotted by the Restoration Committee. He saw what Leon and the others could do in a fight and didn't feel like adding new bruises to his collection of injuries. He was still trying to recover from a scorch mark on his backside.

He slunk around, trying to find out anything that could lead him to the key-bearer or the resistance base. That's when he saw Aerith walking by. He kept hidden, but as she walked past and kept going he couldn't help a snicker. She didn't look too tough, if he could snatch her, she may tell him what he wanted to know. If she didn't then he'd use her as leverage to get the answers he wanted from someone else.

He followed after her, but she was quicker than he thought. As much as he tried, he eventually lost her. He thought about summoning some heartless, but that would draw a crowd; something he didn't need.

He kept running stopping only when a strange sight caught his eye. A mechanic was knelt down, with his back turned to Pete, but he wore a red battery on his back and Pete realized that he knew him.

Megavolt was busy trying to fix an old radio. It looked like it would never work again, but the power-house rodent was determined to get it working. Something big blocked out the sunlight and Megavolt stopped and looked up.

"Hiya, Megsy. Long time no see."

"Yipe!"

Megavolt jumped up and readied himself for a fight, but when he saw who it was he relaxed. "Oh, it's just you, Pete. I thought you were - it doesn't matter. What d'you want? I'm busy."

Pete chuckled. He didn't know why, but his voice seemed to make Megavolt and the rest of his pals nervous. He enjoyed it.

"Listen Megs, I'm lookin' for a girl who just walked by. She's wearin' a pink dress and has braided brown hair wid' a pretty pink bow. Ya seen 'er?"

Megavolt shrugged. "Sorry, I've been too busy trying to fix up the shop. That water-logged nobody really knows how to make a mess."

"Nobody?" Pete repeated surprised. "That ain't possible, OrganizationXII's been wiped out!"

"You need to get better sources. There's three still running around," Megavolt replied as he went back to work.

"Which ones?"

Megavolt sighed in frustration. He was never going to get this done. "One was blonde and had water powers. The second was Axel. He's not so bad - he pays me well enough for repairs."

"And the other?" Pete asked, trying to measure what he and Melficent would be up against if the Organization was trying to make a comeback.

"I don't remember his name. He had brown, spiky hair and stood about this tall," he held up his hand to indicate the boy's height.

"What kind of powers did he have?" asked Pete.

"Dunno, never saw his weapon. He seemed pretty friendly, but it only reminded me of a do-gooder. He seemed cheerful enough though."

A big smile appeared on Pete's face. _"Bingo." _


	17. Training Begins

_**There's a lot more happening with these characters then I realized. Talk about a busy bunch. At least they're not just lazing around. It's easy sometimes to over-look the fact that each of these guys are main characters in their own stories. **_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. **_

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><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen<strong>

The clock in Riku's room tolled seven O'clock. He moaned as he turned over before slowly sitting up. His silver hair was a bit messy after tossing in his sleep. He raised his arms high in the air as he stretched before getting out of bed.

Heading down to the stairs he braced himself for a crowded kitchen. It'd probably be a while before he could get his breakfast. When he got there he was surprised to find it empty. The dishes were still cleaned and stacked in the drain board and the fridge was still stacked with food. Riku thought something serious was wrong, until Scrooge McDuck walked in.

"Mornin' laddie." he greeted as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Where is everyone?" asked Riku.

"Training."

"This early?"

"Aye, they've been at it since dawn. Tifa's been makin' sure our team will be ready for a fight and Phil's been helpin' her." Scrooge added the cream and took a sip.

"I wish we knew what we were up against." Riku said while he put two slices of bread into the toaster.

"Aye, knowing that witch's plans would make it easier, but it'd be a suicide mission ta go back there. We pulled it off twice, I cannea say if it'd be possible a third time, but don't get your hopes up. The next time we storm the castle is when we put that witch in her place for good."

Riku had to admire the old duck. He had to be pushing up there in age, yet he was just as spunky and gun-ho as any man half his age. He was always positive and had the common sense to see the better answer to a problem that others would over look.

The toast popped up from the toaster and Riku put the slices on a plate. Scrooge headed back outside leaving the boy alone with his thoughts.

Outside things were going well. Phil had everyone in check. Mulan, Aladdin, and several others were doing push ups while Beast was working on a punching bag. Jack Sparrow was doing his best to dodge as targets flew at him. "I don't think this is the best way to train, mate!"

"Tough! Cause you're gonna keep at it until you can dodge these blind-folded!" Phil was in his element and had no tolerance for slackers.

Jack Skellington was running around a makeshift track and puting quite some distance from the other runners. His long legs were a big advantage.

Riku watched them from a window and wanted to get in some training of his own, but he was still on the mend. He didn't want to admit it, but he had never felt so weak. Not since before that fateful night on Destiny Islands at least. At first he thought about blaming his own weakness, but he realized that it would pointless. There was only one person who was the cause of all this. Maleficent. It was her heartless that attacked the castle. She was the one who had used Kairi as a shield and she was the one who cast an aura of darkness on Sora. She had tormented him and his friends for long enough. Riku knew he had to put a stop to it, before it cost him everything.

With one last bite from his breakfast Riku headed back upstairs to his room, but he wasn't going to sleep. He was going to train in his own way. By planning the best way to take down the evil witch.

Merlin was making his way down the stairs when Riku past him. the determined look in the boy's eyes didn't escape the wizard's notice. Merlin cleared his throat, hoping to catch the boy's attention.

"You seem to be healing well. Would you feel up to a little magic practice?"

Riku turned and looked down at the wizard who was four steps lower than him. Riku looked like he was going to refuse ay first before he nodded.

"Sure."

"splendid! I'll meet you in the second floor training room shortly. I have to give these scrolls to Tifa first."

Riku nodded and headed up the stairs, towards the large room Yen Sid had formed to accommodate magical training.

Tifa was taking her turn at the punching bag while Beast had moved on to push ups with Skellington and Sparrow. Tifa saw Merlin and gave the punching bag one last kick before walking up to the wizard who was conversing with Scrooge.

"Aye, it's clear the lad's got something on his mind, I'm just worried it'll get him into trouble sooner or later. We best not leave him alone to his thoughts for too long." Scrooge thought there was something troubling the teen, but he hoped it was nothing. Merlin's observations only seemed to prove the old duck was right.

"What's up?" asked Tifa as she only caught the tail end of what they were saying.

"Seem's Riku's well enough to do some magic training," replied the old duck.

"That's good to hear, I was getting a little worried after last night," Tifa commented while noticing what Merlin had. "Is that it?"

Merlin handed them to her. "Yes, this is all the master could find."

"Good. If this works out like we planned then we may have a chance," she replied as she took the scrolls.

"If the lad can be found of course," Scrooge added.

Tifa smiled at Scrooge's question. "You sound worried, don't tell me you don't think Cloud can't handle a simple rescue mission."

Last night Tifa had come to a realization after talking to Riku. Thinking back to how the soldier had overcome his past convinced her that there was no point worrying. She knew Cloud would come through and she also knew that Sora would be fine. It was impossible to kill such a cheerful, free spirit. Everyone has their bad times, but somehow, they always seemed to come back stronger. She was confident that was the case with Sora. Scrooge's reply pulled her away from her thoughts.

"I never said that, I'm just trying to be reasonable. If Sora doesn't want to be found, I don't think anyone can find him."

Merlin cleared his throat. "I hate to be rude, but I had better check in on Riku. He seemed pretty focused when I left."

With that he took his leave, leaving Tifa and Scrooge to carry on their conversation.

_. . ._

When Merlin entered the room he had to do a double take. The far wall was charred as if hit with a powerful fire spell. The floor to the right was covered in ice and the side wall was covered in package popcorn from the punching bag that was torn apart by a thunder spell. The popcorn was stuck to the wall by static electricity. Merlin looked at the boy who was standing in the middle of the room, trying to catch his breath.

"Riku?"

The teen turned to face the wizard. He was holding a book in his hands. "I found this on the shelf and decided to learn some new magic," he explained.

Merlin was beside himself before his temper returned. "Do you have any idea how foolish that was?! Learning magic without fully understanding it can be dangerous! What if you had been overcome by darkness? There is dark magic within those pages. I should think you wouldn't want a repeat from before?"

Riku tossed the book onto the nearby shelf. "I knew what I was doing. I won't fall into darkness."

Merlin picked up the book and wiped it off. "I certainly hope not. Now," he walked to the other side of the room, "show me what else you can do."

_~*~STL~*~_

Mickey, Donald and Goody were walking along the busy city streets. They were getting strange looks from the people as they went. Goofy felt nervous under pressure.

Donald huffed as a group of punks snickered at them. He was doing a good job of ignoring them until one of them made a duck call. Donald lost it. He charged over to them and rolled up his sleeve.

"What's your problem? you got a thing against ducks?"

"Donald!" Mickey called.

"Yeah, _Donald, _better do what daddy mouse says," the punk laughed.

That did it. Donald launched himself at the thug, but Goofy caught him and held him back. "Easy, Donald. That's not why we're here."

"Better put a collar on your pets, mouse boy." The thug warned Mickey as he and his pals rounded the corner and carried on their way. Donald seethed in anger while Goofy didn't let go until they were long gone.

Mickey placed a comforting hand on Donald's shoulder. "Let it go, we're here for a more important reason, remember?"

It took the trio another hour to locate the police station. By the time the got to the front steps they were exhausted.

"And I thought the Nobody's world was big," Goofy commented as he tried to catch his breath.

Donald and Mickey had to agree. It wasn't the size that made it difficult, it was everything else in it. The large crowds, the traffic - it totally lacked any friendly element.

Well almost.

Mickey and Donald looked over when they heard Goofy laughing. A white dog with several brown markings and a red scarf had pounced on the knight only to jump down and lower his head to the ground, while wagging his tail. Then with a friendly yip he began chasing his tail.

"You sure are a friendly fella." Goofy commented as he pet the dog's head and watched him play.

Donald and Mickey also approached the dog who was now rolling on his back allowing them to rub his tummy. His tail never stopped wagging. Mickey thought he saw the dog wink, but thought he had imagined it.

None of them saw the little brown Chihuahua with a green head-band sneak up from behind. He was about to pull Goofy's money pouch out with his canine teeth when a shadow blocked out his light.

The little dog looked behind him and saw a woman with blue jean pants, a red jacket and shoulder-length black hair glaring down at him.

With a yelp the Chihuahua ran off. The terrier jumped up and followed after him and disappeared into the crowd.

Mickey almost thought he heard the dog shout, "Nice goin' Tito!" but shrugged it off as he turned towards the woman.

"It's pretty bad when even dogs are turning into pick-pockets," she commented, "I'm guessing you must be Mickey?"

"That's King Mickey!" Donald corrected.

"Right, King Mickey," she replied in a soft laugh.

"You must be officer Maza," Mickey addressed her.

_. . ._

Maza led the three through the police station, careful to avoid her captain. She'd be starting her shift soon and wanted a few moments of free time to greet her friends before she went on patrol.

"Gawrsh, it must be hard protecting a city as big as this every night," Goofy commented.

"I have help," she replied with a smirk.

She was about to round the corner that led to a small door when her partner Matt Bluestone approached. "Why didn't you tell me the circus was in town?"

Donald's feathers began to bristle at that comment when Maza calmed the situation. "Don't tell me you've never seen a cos-player."

"A what?" Her response caught him off-guard.

"People who go to conventions and dress up as their favorite characters. You know, Final Fantasy, Super heroes-"

"-Oh yeah, nerds," Bluestone finished.

Donald was about to unleash his wrath when Mickey clamped his beak shut and Goofy held him back.

Maza tried to lose him. "Look, I've got to take care of these three. I'll meet you downstairs in twenty."

Matt still wasn't sure, but he agreed and headed to wait outside by her car.

"Who was that?" Donald growled as the others let him go.

"My partner. He's kinda rough around the edges, but he softens up once you get to know him."

She opened up the door to the wall and beckoned for them to follow. It led into a storage room. Donald was about comment when she pulled down a step ladder to the floor above. When the three got to the top of the stairs they were surprised by what they saw.

They were in what looked like an old clock tower. It kind of reminded the trio of the clock tower back in Twilight Town. Over in the corner there was an easy-chair with a small television set and farther down from that was a stove and counter-top. There were a few pillows in another corner as well. It seemed like someone had turned this place into their home.

"So," Donald looked around, "where are you friends?"

Maza looked outside at the fading light. "They'll be here soon."

Donald had gotten fed up with waiting and decided to make himself comfortable on the chair while Goofy explored the tower a bit.

He stopped when he came across a strange statue. "This looks kinda familiar."

Maza approached the statue and examined it. "This one's new, I wonder who it is?"

Suddenly its eyes lit up bright yellow as it broke out from the wall and swung it's sword at the two. Goofy raised his shield as the sword struck against it.

More of the creatures appeared, some identical to the first while the others wielded a spiked-mace.

"Heartless!" Mickey shouted as his keyblade appeared in his hand. Donald sprung into action as well with an ice spell, freezing one of the heartless, allowing his king to take it down with one strike.

One of the heartless was about to launch itself at Maza, but it soon vanished in a cloud of dark mist as Goofy's shield cut through it with ease. Maza nodded her thanks as she pulled out her side-arm and fired at one of the heartless. It struck true, but it wasn't enough to defeat it.

The heartless turned and swung it's sword in the air before striking it into the ground, summoning more of its kind. The four were now vastly out-numbered. Still, they fought on. Donald went to strike a group of them with a lightning attack when Goofy was knocked back into him. The attack missed the heartless and hit the TV causing it to short out.

Maza was backing Mickey up when she went to fire and realized she was out of ammo. "Not now!"

The heartless she had been aiming at jumped into the air and charged at her, but something big stopped it cold.

Maza opened her eyes and realized they were no longer out-numbered.

The sun had set.

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><p><strong><em>Yes, Maza knows what Final Fantasy is. (not really, I just thought it'd be fun to throw it in there. x3 ) <em>**


	18. New Allies and a New Look

_**I don't know what to say guys, All of these reviews, favs and follows? Thank you. I didn't think this story would be anything special, but you've helped it become something great. It never would've gotten this far without your support. And even if I have not replied to every review, know that I have read them all and I appreciate every compliment and critique. Your input has only made this story better and your support will only increase its quality, because Not only do I want to tell a good story, but I want to write a story worth telling. There are many great things still to come and more new characters to be revealed. I'll also try to fit in more cameos as some of you seemed to enjoy what happened in the last chapter ;)**_

_**But, enough of my blabbing time for the disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all of its characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen<strong>

As the last rays of the sun faded from the sky the six statues sitting outside of the clock tower began to crack. The chipping increased until the outer layer of stone broke away as six powerful Gargoyles roared to life.

They entered through the opening into the clock-tower; their home, and the sight that greeted them stunned them for a moment. Their friend and three others, under attack by strange, winged creatures.

The clan's leader would have none of that. With a mighty roar he lept into action, catching the heartless that was aiming its sword at the detective in mid-air.

His eyes began to glow a bright white as he growled in its face. "You are trespassing." His voice was deep and fully described how powerful he was.

When the heartless tried to break free the gargoyle threw it into four others causing them all to vanish. That set off a chain reaction as the other members of his clan lept into the fray.

The red gargoyle stood next to Goofy to lend his aid, while the smaller yellow one assisted Donald and the king. The large green one helped Maza while the older brown gargoyle and the dark blue one that resembled a dog teamed up.

The first gargoyle stood on his own, it was safer that way. He took out most of the first wave while the others used their skills to take care of the rest.

It didn't take long before all of the heartless were nothing more than dissipating wisps of dark smoke. Soon nothing was left. Maza let out a sigh of relief when they were safe. "You guys have the best timing."

The leader folded his wings over his shoulders like a cloak and placed a gentle claw on her shoulder. "Elisa, you're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks to you and to my new friends here," she stated, waving a hand in the trio's direction.

The gargoyle approached them. Donald and Goofy gulped, but Mickey kept his calm. "It's alright fellas, gargoyles are protectors. They don't attack unless provoked."

"Tell that to the heartless gargoyles," Donald replied.

"Excuse me?" growled the red gargoyle.

Mickey sighed. It was clear he'd have to defuse the situation. "That's what the creatures we just defeated are called. There are several different kind of heartless. Those are known as gargoyles, but obviously they're noting like the real thing."

"Indeed," replied the leader, "Now that the fighting is over, I think it's best if we start the introductions. I am called Goliath."

"Hi, I'm Broadway," added the green one.

"Brooklyn," said the red one.

"Lexington," chimed in the yellow one. "and that's Hudson and Bronx," he finished pointing to the older brown one first and then the dog who wagged his small tail.

"Nice to meet you, I'm King Mickey and these are my friends, Donald and Goofy."

"What brings you here?" asked Broadway.

Mickey's cheerful smile faded. "We need your help."

_~*~STL~*~_

Pete chuckled to himself as he made his way through the halls that led to Ansem's study. Maybe he could find something about the resistance on the computer. There wasn't much of anything in the study worth goin' through. The place was still a mess. Pete didn't think it had ever been cleaned.

He slunk around to the computer room, being careful in case someone was in there. He peeked around the corner, but walked in with confidence when he realized he was alone. He smiled like a naughty child when he saw the computer unguarded.

He walked over to the keyboard and began typing in a search.

"Resistance Location"

_"Access denied, please enter password"_ came a male computer voice.

Pete tried again.

"King Mickey"

_"Access denied"_

"Key Blade Runt"

_"Access denied"_

"Work you stupid thing!" Pete slammed his fist onto the keyboard, but stopped when he felt something sharp poking him in the back.

"What are you doing here?" The voice belonged to Leon. The gun-blade was pointing at the villain's back and he wasn't going to lower his guard until he got an answer.

_"He's been trying to search the computer."_ replied the male computer voice from before.

"Wha- you mean you can hear me?!" Pete shouted at the computer.

_Yes, and feel. That punch hurt by the way."_ he replied.

"Tron, what was he searching for?" Leon was liking this less and less.

_"His exact searches were; Resistance Location, King Mickey, and Key Blade Runt." _replied Tron.

The sword tip poked harder into Pete's back. "You won't get your answers here. We're the Restoration Committee, we only care about restoring our world. We don't care about what goes on outside of it. Now, leave before I show you what we do to trespassers in Radiant Garden."

Pete saw the glare from Leon's gaze and knew he meant it. With a nervous gulp he opened a portal of darkness and rushed into it.

After it closed Leon dropped his act and let his shoulders sag a bit. "That was too close."

_"I thought you did good. I believed you."_ replied Tron.

Leon smirked before making sure the villain didn't get what he was looking for.

_~*~STL~*~_

When Mickey and the others had finished telling their story the gargoyles were speechless. Well, almost all of them.

"In all my years I have seen some strange things," began Hudson, "but I have yet to see any proof of other worlds and this Kingdom Hearts you speak of."

"You saw the proof first-hand. Those heartless are all the evidence you need," said Mickey.

"And what about us?" asked Donald. "Have you seen anything like us before?"

Goliath held his chin in his claw as he thought. It was a lot to take in, but he couldn't think of any of their enemies that could pull off such a scheme. "It is hard to believe, but after everything we've been through it would be wrong to refuse to help, especially after they protected Elisa until we awoke."

"So, you'll help us?" asked Goofy.

Goliath nodded, "Yes."

The three relaxed and smiled, obviously grateful.

"So what about this Sara kid? If he's human like Elisa, how does he fight these monsters?" asked Broadway.

"That's Sora!" Donald corrected.

"With one of these," Mickey replied as his golden kingdom key appeared in his hand. "It's called a Keyblade and only a chosen few can wield one."

Brooklyn focused his gaze on the blade, he wasn't impressed. "I hope the kid's strong, that thing doesn't look like it can do much good."

"You'd be surprised," Goofy chimed in.

"So, when do we leave?" asked Lexington.

"Not yet," Mickey replied. "First we have to go to other worlds and try to find more help. Your's is the third world I've visited in search of more fighters."

"Is this witch really that strong?" asked Brooklyn, "I mean, how bad can she be?"

Donald and Goofy exchanged sorrowful glances at one another before Goofy answered. "She's real bad, so bad that I'm worried about our friend."

Donald looked down at the floor. Mickey was concerned about what the two meant, but when Donald caught his king's glance, he looked the other way. That was a bad sign.

"Your friend?" asked Goliath.

"He got hurt trying to fight her and he still hasn't recovered yet. That was almost a month ago," replied Donald.

Elisa gave Goliath a look who nodded in understanding. "Very well, we shall be ready to aid you in this coming battle, but we can only move freely during the night. I'm afraid that you shall be on your own during the day."

Mickey nodded and held up his hand. "It's a deal then?"

Goliath held out his clawed hand to shake the king's.

"Deal."

_~*~STL~*~_

His head was throbbing. That was the first thing Cloud realized upon waking up. It took a bit of effort, but he managed to open his eyes. He instantly regretted it and shut them again. The room he was laying in was very bright. White walls decorated with green and red. The scent of gingerbread was thick in the air. As he took a few deep breaths he winced as he felt a sharp stabbing pain on his side, just under his arm.

It was painful, but he managed to rise into a sitting position. He felt dizzy and his side only hurt more. He thought about laying back down when someone entered the room.

Sally had come in to check on her patient. She carried a tray that held fresh bandages and medicine to re-treat his injuries. She nearly dropped the tray when she saw him sitting up.

"Oh, you're awake? That's good, but please don't push yourself, you're still badly injured."

She pulled up a chair and sat in front of him as she began to change the bandage on his shoulder. Cloud's head was still hurting, but he managed the pain enough to ask a question.

"Where am I?" He wanted to ask more, but his headache wouldn't allow it.

"You're in Christmas Town, of course. Mr. Clause and I found you injured and pinned under a strange machine. We didn't think you'd make it at first, but after a few days of close calls, I'm confident that you'll make a full recovery, provided you don't try to move around."

Cloud winced as he held the side of his head with his good arm, that's when he noticed something different. Poking out of his hair was something soft, and it hurt when he pulled on it.

"Mirror."

"Excuse me?" asked Sally, she hadn't heard him.

"I need a mirror," he repeated.

Sally was confused, but thought he just wanted to see his head injury. she got up and headed into the nearby bathroom and returned a moment later with a small mirror.

Cloud looked at his reflection and blinked a few times to let his appearance sink in. That strange thing poking out from his head was a fluffy ear and he had a matching pair. his human ears were no where to be seen. His eyes held a richer shade of blue and almost seemed to glow. They reflected the light in a strange way, similar to how a dog's eyes would reflect light. He also noticed he had fangs.

"What happened to me?" He asked.

He could tell by the way his head hurt that he had a concussion, but there was no injury he knew of that could cause this to happen. He looked over at the woman next, noticing for the first time what she was.

Her skin wasn't just pale, she was blue-ish grey. Her limbs looked like they had been stitched to her and her face held that blank zombie look. Just what was she? He was about to ask when it suddenly dawned on him. This had to be Jack Skellington's world. The world of monsters, where Halloween was something they specialized in. His new appearance began to make sense, yet it never occurred to him that he'd be a werewolf of all things. If anything, he expected a vampire.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sally asked. she had thought he was examining the bandage she had wrapped around his head injury.

He shook his head. "No, I'm just trying to remember what happened." He didn't want to lie to her, not after she was trying to help, but he wasn't sure if he should damage the world order even more than it already was. The less people who knew about it the better.

Sally changed the bandages and examined each injury. Cloud didn't complain, though it was painful when he had to raise his arms so she could remove his shirt and change the bandage around his middle. Along with the concussion, he had three broken ribs, a stab wound to his right shoulder and several bruises.

When she had finished she went to help him put his shirt back on, but decided against it when she noticed he was still in pain.

She was about to ask something when a heavy-set man in a red suit entered the room. "So, Miss Sally, how is our patient?"

"On the mend, Mr. Clause."

_"Clause?"_ Cloud looked the man up and down. Was this really the fabled Santa Clause that delivered toys to the world's children in a single night? He never believed in him as a kid, yet after seeing him in the flesh, he almost found it comical.

"Has Miss Sally filled you in?" he asked the soldier.

"Filled me in?"

"I was just about to," she replied.

She turned to Cloud and began. "After Jack left to help the resistance, Mr. Clause agreed to let the citizens of Halloween town evacuate to Christmas Town if Maleficent were to attack. I've been helping set up accommodations should the worst befall our believed town. Mr. Clause and I were walking up the hill to go meet with the mayor when we saw something fall from the sky. It looked like a falling star at first, but when we arrived we found you pinned under a black machine with wheels."

Cloud was a bit relieved to hear that. At least Fenrir landed on the same world. He only hoped it wasn't too badly damaged. "What about the heartless?"

"There weren't any. Perhaps they didn't survive the fall," she continued, "you were lucky. There was a sword that was sticking out of your shoulder,-"

_"Stabbed by one of my own swords, nice."_ he thought sarcastically to himself.

"-it was a long blade, at least ten feet and very thin," she held out her arms as she described it.

Cloud's previous thought vanished. That sword only fit one description and it wasn't one of his. His left hand clenched into a tight fist.

"Sephiroth."

Cloud tried to get up, but both Sally and Santa stopped him.

"Where are you going? You're in no condition to be moving around." Santa scolded him like he was a little kid, but the stone-cold look in Cloud's eyes was dangerous. The glowing abilities of a werewolf only added to the intimidating gaze.

"I have to go, before he gets too far away," again he tried to sit up, but in his weakened state, the two others easily held him down.

"What good will you be in your condition? Friend or foe, you can't face this Sephiroth with these injuries, it'd be a miracle if you made it out the front door."

Cloud turned towards Santa and glared at him. "Sephiroth's no friend. He's my sworn enemy!"

"Then why are you trying to give him an easy victory?"

Sally placed a comforting hand on his injured shoulder. "Please, your injuries need time to heal, but it shouldn't take as long as you think. A werewolf heals quickly. You should be fully recovered within a week. A normal person would need much longer."

With a painful sigh, Cloud admitted defeat and relaxed. He let Sally administer some medicine and was soon asleep.

Once she was positive he was out the two left the room.

"He sure is a stubborn one," commented Santa.

"Yes, I hope we've done the right thing," Sally replied, "I hope he's a friend and not an enemy of the resistance."

Santa gave a soft chuckle. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that one. Whether he believes in me or not, I still have his name on my list."

"Which list?" she couldn't help but ask.

Santa stroked his beard in thought. "Well, it has changed from time to time, but for the majority of his life, Cloud Strife has been on the good list."

"Is that where he is now?" Sally sounded slightly nervous, but Santa dispelled her fear when he nodded with a calm smile.


	19. Reveal

_**Not a very long chapter, and I apologize for that. But things are just setting up. The next few chapters are going to be pretty big in terms of moving the plot along. I recently got a massive overdose of inspiration. From two great sources a good friend and a great series. an update should come soon.**_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. **_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen<strong>

During the night, King Mickey and his friends had learned much about the Gargoyles. Their tragic past and their wondrous present and their hopes for the future.

"Gosh, you guys sure have been through a lot," Mickey commented.

"And you've been keeping yourselves pretty busy, protecting the city and all," added Goofy.

"Yeah, it's not an easy job, but somebody's gotta do it." Broadway was over by the stove, cooking himself something to eat. He offered his guests some, but they politely refused.

"I know we're asking a lot of your clan, Golaith. As much as I'd appreciate the help, I would understand if you chose not to reconsider. I just don't feel it's fair to ask the last of your clan to put themselves in danger for our cause." Now that Mickey knew the story, he was feeling guilty about asking their new friends to risk everything.

Goliath raised up a claw. "Nonsense, your cause is just, and besides, a gargoyle's duty is to protect. I cannot and will not ignore the needs of others if we can make a difference."

"Are you coming too, Elisa?" Donald looked over at the detective who had been silent during the story.

"Wish I could, but I've got to hold the fort here," she felt bad that she couldn't tag along, but there were two big cases sitting on her desk and they couldn't be ignored.

Hudson, who had been watching TV on his recliner glanced up at the clock's stained glass. Noticing that the sky was getting lighter he turned off the TV and got up. "The dawn is approaching."

The other gargoyles began to follow him up the steps. Goliath was last and turned to his new allies. "When the time comes, we'll be ready."

With that he turned and headed up the steps and out the glass door. Out of curiosity, Donald and Goofy followed them and watched in amazement. The gargoyles were flesh one moment and as the first rays of sunlight lit up the sky they turned to stone.

. . .

A few hours later the Gummi Ship was once again cruising through space, heading to the next world. Donald was piloting and Goofy was navigating. Mickey had just returned from doing the maintenance on the ship. Something had been bothering him since they left Manhattan Island. It was time he got some answers.

"Donald, what did you mean before, about a friend that was recovering?"

Donald's eye glistened with pain. He didn't know how to tell the king.

"Goofy?" Mickey turned to his knight. He didn't answer either.

"Will somebody answer me?"

Their silence only left the king with one clue. His subjects cared deeply for many people, but not many could cause this kind of reaction if they were in trouble.

"Tell me,... what happened,... to Sora." This time the king demanded it.

It was Goofy who finally turned his chair around.

"We really are sorry, King Mickey. We wanted to tell ya sooner, but...it hurt too much."

After his knight revealed the fate that had befallen the young keyblade wielder Mickey looked down in sorrow.

"Riku was just as surprised as we were when Sora said he'd never use the keyblade again, but I hope he didn't mean it," Goofy finished.

The king nodded. "I hope not either, but it's partly my fault. I thought Minnie and Kairi would be safe in the Hall of the Cornerstone. I never thought it could be destroyed."

Mickey felt so horrible. What was suppose to be a day to honor them had turned into a nightmare. What hurt him the most was the torture Sora went through.

"It's gotta be that Sephiroth, he must be a different kind of darkness, one that has some sorta resilience against the light's power," Goofy explained.

"And Now Sora's somewhere out there without a keyblade and running from the darkness and his friends. I can't imagine how alone he must feel." surmised the king.

"But,... if Cloud's out there lookin' for him we shouldn't worry too much. I've heard about some of the things he's done and I'm willing to put my faith in him."

Goofy smiled at this and turned to look at the screen. "So, where do we go next?"

Mickey looked up at the screen and scanned the worlds carefully. "That one. It's far away, but I have a feeling that world offers a lot of help. Donald, full speed ahead!"

"Yes sir, you're majesty!"

At first, Donald was in pain, but he trusted his king and hoped that they'd make it in time to save their friend.

The Gummi Ship put in an extra burst of speed as it continued its journey through the stars.

_~*~STL~*~_

Maleficent walked along one of the newly repaired halls of her palace. Finally it was a fortress worthy of her magnificent evil. Looking out a window she marveled at her greatest achievement. A large, black tower which stood twenty stories tall cast an ominous shadow over the palace grounds. Resting at the top of this tower was a darkness of her own creation. A Cornerstone of Darkness. Its dark aura pulsed from the orb which was twice the size of the shattered stone of light.

The witch was confident that this would weaken any creature of light that was foolish enough to challenge her awesome might. Even now, she could feel her own dark powers feeding off the magnificent glow of dark energy.

A corridor of darkness opened just down the hall, causing the witch to turn and face it. Not a few seconds later Pete ran through, looking quite panicked. The witch's good mood faltered when she noticed he had returned empty-handed.

Pete stopped once he was in the clear to catch his breath. "Sheesh, I gotta get in better shape!"

He didn't see Maleficent until she used her dark powers to throw him into the far wall.

He collapsed to the ground and rubbed the back of his head before looking up at her in fear.

"Fool! I warned you not to return without Sora! Your usefulness is at an end!"

"Wait!" he shouted, waving his hands defensively. "Wait, please! I know where he is!"

She stopped, but still glared at him with hateful eyes.

"Speak."

"The reason we can't find him is because he's with the nobodies! I heard from an old pal 'o mine. He told me the punk was wearin' a black coat and walking around with two of them guys from the Organization! Those cloaks of theirs protects them from attracting the heartless, that's why I couldn't find him. and who knows, if he's with the Organization he might have a heartless running around already!"

Pete covered his head, preparing himself for the worst, but it never came. He chanced a peek and saw that Maleificent had calmed down and was processing this new information.

"This is interesting news. I did not sense a strong light succumbing to darkness, but no matter. Hunting those fools down should be simple enough."

"So, I did good?" asked Pete.

The smile on the witch's face told Pete all he needed to know.

_~*~STL~*~_

Hades had returned to his home in the underworld. Maleficent had requested he look for both the resistance and the keyblade wielder. He didn't have time on his busy schedule for both so he decided to stick to the easier task of finding the resistance. Now in his personal chamber he paced near the table he always had set up for his strategies.

With a wave of his hand, dark smoke engulfed the board, changing the game pieces. One one side in a mystery corner were pieces that resembled the known faces of the resistance. The ones he had seen in the vision showing the day Sora had been rescued. He studied each member, carefully weighing his options. Some of them were chumps and pushovers. The old duck was no problem, and neither was the pirate or the street rat. The skeleton king may offer a challenge, but there was one member that Hades had to be very careful around.

Now, how to go about finding them. I can always send in a monster to take them down. but I gotta find 'em first."

The ringing sound of clashing steel caught his attention. There must've been a match in the underdrome going on. Curiosity getting the better of him, Hades decided to take a little gander.

Three large bodies and two neo shadows were facing down one lone warrior. He wielded a broadsword and fought the heartless with great skill. It didn't take very long for the warrior to be proclaimed the winner. This gave Hades an idea.

_~*~STL~*~_

Riku stood in in front of the master's desk in his study. He was forced to wait while the wizard and the sorcerer spoke about his earlier training. It was strange. He didn't feel weak anymore. After looking through that book he found what appeared to be a stronger healing spell than Cure. He cast it on himself and he didn't just feel recovered, he felt stronger.

The door to the next room opened and the two elders emerged. Merlin stood next to the chair as Master Yen Sid took his seat. Riku couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"So," the master began, "I understand you've been studying a certain book of spells."

"Y-yes sir." Why did he feel like he had done something wrong?

Master Yen sid stroked his beard in thought. "You seem to be feeling better. Tell me, did you cast a spell on yourself from that book?"

Again, this made Riku nervous. "Yeah, a healing spell."

"Hmm, very interesting."

Riku didn't know how much more he could take. I wished they'd quit beating around the bush and explain.

"You seem to have a special talent," the master finally replied. It wasn't what Riku had expected.

"What do you mean?"

"That book is full of spells that have yet to be perfected. I imagine your use of the elemental spells had poor results?"

"Yeah, I couldn't control them very well," he admitted. The ice shards sticking out of the wall and the static cling were purely accidents.

"But, most couldn't control them at all. That is why that book remained here. The magic it contains is very different and far more potent than the kind another magic user, say Donald for example, can wield."

"So, you're saying I can?" asked Riku, no longer nervous, but curious and perhaps a little excited.

"All that is known is that you have the potential. if you can learn to control it then perhaps the mysteries of that book will be answered by you, Riku. Will you except this training?"

Riku looked down at his hands. He thought about everything that had happened in the past few months, especially this last month. If he could become stronger then, maybe he could face his fear and, face that monster.

"I accept."

Master Yen Sid studied the boy's eyes. They were focused and determined.

"Very well, Merlin shall oversee your training."


	20. Struggle

_**Sorry for the wait everyone, issues at home have been holding this story back. It feels like this is the half-way mark, but with what I have planned it's probably looking more like 1/3 finished. Someone brought up a good point in a PM the other day and said that while the battle scenes were good the descriptions were a bit lacking. I know they're right. I'm just not the best when it comes to describing things sometimes. I tend to make it short, sweet and to the point. I try to focus more on the characters then anything else, but I'll try to be more descriptive in the future. I may go back and add more to previous chapters as well. I hope this longer chapter makes up for the three week wait. As always, I hope you enjoy. ^^**_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty<strong>

The full moon shone brightly through the dead trees leading to Halloween Town. Two weeks had passed and Cloud was now fully recovered. Sally had been right when she predicted it would take less than a week to heal. The soldier was up and about by the third day, thanks in part to his new abilities as a werewolf.

His blue eyes shone in the dark as he made his way to Dr. Fenkelstein's laboratory. When he was strong enough to move around, he went to the crash site. Fenrir was in bad shape. Several key systems were severely damaged. The bike could take a lot, but apparently not a fall from such a height. Until it was fixed, Cloud was stuck in this world.

He made his way into town. For once it wasn't lurking with heartless. He had fought off quite a few of those in the past two weeks trying to help keep the town safe. Making his way to the lab, he knocked before entering.

"Dr. Fenkelstein?" he called as he stepped inside.

"What!" came a grumpy reply.

A wheelchair came from around the corner, sitting in it was a person anyone could easily compare to a mad scientist.

"Oh, it's you again," the doctor replied in an annoyed tone. "I told you before, repairing that contraption will take time."

"And I told you, time is something I don't have." In truth, Cloud should have been gone days ago, but he couldn't repair the damage on his own. He didn't really trust the mad scientist, but he was Cloud's best chance of ever getting off this world.

The doctor turned his wheelchair away and made to return to his shop.

"Hey!" Cloud wasn't finished with him yet.

"Come back in three days," was the only reply he got.

Stepping out of the doctor's lab, Cloud could barely suppress a growl of aggravation. The full moon overhead and his Halloween town guise made it difficult at times to control his anger. He was normally very good at keeping his emotions in check. The sooner he left the better.

He was half way across the square when something hit him in the head and bounced on the street in front of him. This time a low growl was heard as his fangs became visible.

"I told you before, I'm not a pet."

Three distinct giggles echoed from somewhere behind him as a small group of children emerged from the shadows. They were Lock, Shock and Barrel. Halloween Town's infamous tricksters. The trick or treaters each wore a mask that closely reflected their own faces.

"Oh, you're not fun!" replied the witch.

"Yeah, we even made a collar," replied the skeleton.

"And we'll even throw in a couple of raw steaks!" added the little devil.

Cloud kept walking. "Not interested."

The witch turned and punched the devil. "I told you we should have gotten chicken instead!"

"Ow! How was I suppose to know he was a picky wolf?" the kid replied as he took off his mask to rub his head.

The kids ran off when their attention span focused on some more mischief, running right past the mayor who carried a long list. "Cloud! where are you? I'd like to ask your opinions about this upcoming Halloween! Normally, I'd ask Jack, but he's still on vacation. Cloud? Please, I'm only an elected official, I can't make these kinds of decisions by myself!"

The werewolf completely ignored the mayor and kept walking.

_. . ._

Out by the giant gravestones, Cloud thought he'd get a bit of peace, but when several heartless dressed as mummies rose from the ground his hopes were dashed. Pulling out his Fusion Sword he lept into action. These heartless offered more of a challenge than the ones that trapped him here, but they were still no match for him.

Strapping the sword to the sheath on his back, Cloud kept walking. Stopping a few steps later when he heard a faint, hollow bark. A ghost dog floated up from a nearby grave and floated around Cloud.

"Hey, Zero." This was one Halloween Town resident that he actually liked. The dog with the glowing pumpkin nose barked in a happy reply as he continued to float around the soldier.

"Sorry boy, I don't have anything today."

The dog gave a whimper of disappointment.

"But," he added, "there is a toy ball in the square. It's got your name all over it." Even though Cloud couldn't feel the ghost dog's tongue as he licked his face he smiled a bit seeing that he had cheered the pooch up. "Heh, go on boy, go play."

With a happy yip, Zero flew off to find the new toy that awaited him.

_. . ._

Once he made it to the clearing, Cloud looked for the door that would lead him back to Christmas Town. True all the cheerful merriment bothered him a little, but it was better than dealing with a town of crazed monsters. They weren't scary in the least, but they were also unbearably annoying. At least he could find a moment's peace over there in places like Yule Tide Hill despite the bitter cold.

He almost made it to the door when he stopped. The forest around him was too quiet. The bats were gone, the far-off wolves were silent and the neighboring owl was nowhere to be seen. something was wrong.

Using his new abilities, Cloud sniffed the air. His ears perked and twitched as he listened for the faintest sound. Someone was up in the nearby tree. With fangs visible he grasped the handle of his sword. In one motion he drew his weapon and glared up at the tree where the stranger was standing on a branch, leaning against the trunk.

"You're fully recovered I see."

Cloud's ears twitched again at the sound of the stranger's voice (he wish they'd stop doing that), as he recognized it.

"Vincent."

The man in the red cloak looked down at him from the book he was reading and nodded.

"What are you doing here?" asked Cloud, putting his sword away.

"With the Pumpkin King gone there was no one to protect this world from the heartless," he replied.

Vincent closed his book and jumped down, landing a few feet from Cloud. It was only then that he noticed his friend's new appearance. "I see this world gave you a new look."

"Hmph," was the only response Vincent got. This made him smile inwardly.

"How come you haven't changed?"

"It seems I fit this world well enough," Vincent replied. His good mood took on a more serious tone. "Why are you here? I thought the resistance was short-handed. That's why Jack left."

"I was on a mission when I ended up here by mistake. I'm stuck until Fenrir can be repaired."

Vincent reopened his book and continued where he left off. "I see, so that explains why you've been visiting that mad scientist every day."

"I don't suppose you know anyone else who could do better?" He didn't like how the doctor was taking his sweet time. His excuse was always the same, _"This kind of machinery is strange and new to me. It will take some time."_ But Cloud had another guess. The doctor was probably trying to figure out its secrets and replicate the technology. Most of it, the soldier didn't care, but the space road was a different matter. Only specific people, such as keyblade wielders and other select few were able to travel between worlds. It wasn't something that just anyone should be able to achieve. Especially people from this crazy town.

Vincent shook his head, still focused on his reading. Cloud took this chance to leave, heading back to the doctor's lab. He didn't trust Finkelstein.

"Careful, that mad doctor got that name for a reason," Vincent warned.

"I'll keep that in mind."

_~*~STL~*~_

The streets of Twilight Town were unusually quite as a spiky-haired brunette emerged from the back alley. He had just helped a woman who was having trouble with a swarm of bees. He hadn't wanted to accept the munny she offered him, but the kind lady insisted. Sora didn't argue further, it only meant he could treat his friends to ice cream later.

As he made his way down the street he noticed a group of people standing in front of a poster. Sora approached to get a better look.

The poster held a strange type of weapon that looked like a blue baseball bat. "STRUGGLE!" was written above the image in bold letters and "TOURNAMENT!" was labeled at the bottom.

"The Struggle tournament, huh?" he thought aloud.

"Yeah, it's held every year," replied a man standing next to him, "a real big event to wrap up the summer. All of the local kids really get into it. You should try out too!"

Sora folded his arms in thought.

About an hour later Sora was training with Demyx in the woods. Before Sora used to have a lot of trouble taking down the water clones, but after two weeks of practice he had figured out a fighting style that made beating them a piece of cake.

Demyx had realized it too and tried to up his game in order to give the kid more of a challenge. Sora's mind was still on what the guy had told him and didn't see Demyx's charging forwards. "Head's up!"

Sora raised his sword just in time as he was knocked back by the attack. The water exploded in his face and he was drenched. Demyx's saiter vanished as he helped the teen back on his feet.

"Somthin' on your mind?" he asked.

"I was just thinking," he began.

"That could be dangerous," Demyx replied with a smirk. He saw the pouty face Sora was giving him and shook his head. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"I've been training with you and Axel for a while now and I think I'm ready to take on some new opponents."

"Don't tell me you're sick of us already," came Axel's voice as he emerged from the ship.

"It's not like that," Sora replied, "I just want to know if I'm ready to take on other challenges. If I'm ever gonna face my friends again, I can't let them see a weakling. I need to know that I'm strong enough to stand on my own and protect others."

"So, what you're trying to say is, you want to go back and help them," Axel deduced.

"Eventually, yeah."

Axel couldn't hide his smile. It was something he had been waiting to hear ever since they landed in Twilight Town. "So, think you're ready for the Struggle Tournament?" Axel knew that's what the teen was getting at. there really wasn't any other reason. Surprisingly, there had been no heartless spotted in Twilight Town since they had arrived.

"Do you think a simple tournament like Struggle is going to help? I mean, I've seen those guys who enter. They're push overs."

Demyx had a point, the Struggle Battle was easy. Sora didn't really remember when he had seen the tournament, but he could almost picture the event as if he had been there and strangely, it felt like he had.

"Enter if you want, Sora, but just remember,..." Axel walked up next to Demyx, "the heartless are still out there. They may not have been seen here so far, but don't draw attention to yourself."

"I know, don't worry. I'll be fine," Sora smiled as he turned and ran off towards the sandlot.

Axel watched the kid run off and revealed a knowing smirk.

_. . ._

Sora got to the sandlot and nearly bumped right into Pence. The dark-haired teen smiled when he saw him. "Sora!"

Sora had been trying to avoid Roxas' friends ever since he had gotten here, but since the heartless hadn't been seen in the town, Sora didn't see the harm in letting them know he was here now.

"Hey Pence. Long time no see."

"I'll say. It's been ages!"

"Yo! Pence, what's the hold up?" asked Hayner as he and Olette approached. They both smiled when they saw Sora.

"Hey, Sora!" Olette greeted.

"Where the heck have you been?" Hayner asked as he and Sora did a bro-fist.

"Doing stuff," Sora replied.

"Busy as always," Hayner commented. "Hey, are you entering the tournament?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, you better hurry. Sign ups are almost closed."

"Gah!" With that Sora took off towards the black board.

_. . ._

The tournament had a bigger turn out then anyone had remembered. The matches were nail-biting and had the crowd on their feet cheering constantly. Sora had done well to get past the preliminaries and soon it was time for the semi finals. The ref stood in front of the four who had beaten all the rest. They were Hayner, Seifer, Sora and Vivi. Sora couldn't help but feel a sense of Deja vu, looking at the line ups.

"Okay," the announcer began, snapping the teen out of it, "For the first semi final match: Hayner verses Vivi followed by Seifer verses Sora. Remember to have fun and may the best struggler win!"

Sora turned to his friend. "Good luck out there."

"What, against Vivi? You should be wishing him luck." Hayner replied with a smirk.

The match began and both fighters began. Vivi was pretty good. Using his small size in order to do some impressive mid-air flips, forcing Hayner on the defensive. It didn't take long for Hayner to turn things around and soon the match was over.

Sora approached the field as the next match was about to start. Hayner punched him in the arm. "Don't go losin' to Seifer, I've been wanting to fight you in the ring."

"Seifer's no problem. I've taken on tougher opponents than him."

A flashback suddenly entered Sora's mind. He, Donald and Goofy, fighting in the Games. They had been doing great, but one lone warrior had quickly put them in their place. Sora found himself laying on his back looking at the large sword that was barely two inches from his throat. The victor with blonde, spiky hair and a red scarf that doubled as a cape glaring down at him.

_"You're just a kid."_

Sora suddenly felt annoyed. Things were different now. He had been going through a rough time, but he was doing better. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes as before.

Hayner saw his friend's mood change and it worried him a bit. "Hey, stay focused out there. We're going to be facing each other in the finals."

Sora blinked and his cheerful nature returned. "Right."

The two did a bro fist before the brunette stepped onto the field where Seifer was waiting. "Hope I don't hurt ya too much."

Sora smirked as he picked up his struggle bat. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing."

"Oh, look at the sparks fly!" declared the announcer as both teens took up their stance and got ready for the match to begin.

"Last chance to back out," Seifer offered, but Sora stayed put. Standing relaxed, but ready. The bell started and the match began.

"Kneel, loser!" Seifer came at Sora with several forward strokes. Sora jumped to the side before striking out, but Seifer blocked the hit. The brunette tried again and struck Seifer from behind. "That's it!" The older teen turned and struck Sora in his shoulder. It stung a bit, but he had suffered worse. Seifer took this chance to get in a combo. Striking Sora several times, but it didn't injure Sora as much as he thought it would. Realization suddenly dawned on him. After what he had been put through in Maleficent's dungeon he had grown a high tolerance for pain. _"At least there's one good thing that came outta that." _The teen thought as he jumped out of the way on another attack.

Time was running out and Seifer was in the lead, having more points than Sora. He couldn't lose, he promised Hayner they'd meet in the finals and Sora always kept his promises.

_"I'm searching too,"_

_"For your light? Don't lose sight of it."_

Again, Sora's mind had wandered into the past. Why were these memories coming to him now? He stood there, trying to shake his head to clear it.

"What's the matter, squirt? Wanna back out? Too late!"

Seifer came flying into Sora's vision and it was all he could do to dodge out of the way. The timer was counting down and Seifer only had a slight lead. Sora looked at Seifer as everything seemed to flow in slow motion. Sora looked at his opponent, but instead of the white trench coat, Sora saw black. The form of Seifer altered and he saw the soldier standing in his place. One more flash back entered his mind. Back in Radiant Garden. Cloud was trying to find him, to take him back. Sora didn't want to be found. He wasn't ready to face them, but the soldier was trying to force him to. It angered Sora and as the vision of Cloud came at him, Sora struck out. The bell dinged and the match was over.

* * *

><p><strong><em>So, it seems Sora's got his attitude back. 'bout time. <em>**


	21. Vanishing Act: Rescue and Kidnapping

_**Finally it's here. I don't know why this chapter was so hard to write. *shrug* oh well, but there are some great things to look forward to. Big chapters coming up soon, chapters that I've been waiting to write for a good while now. Bigger scenes, bigger moments and new characters that will definitely surprise our heroes. So, there's something to look forward to. :)**_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty One<strong>

Seifer had been sent flying back and hit the ground hard. He didn't get up. The ref looked at the point score before stepping into the ring. Walking over to Sora he picked up the teen's arm and held it up. "Winner: Sora, by a nose!" The crowd erupted into cheers.

"I won?" Sora asked, surprised. The judge showed him the score card. The last attack knocked five points off Seifer's score, two more than Sora needed to win.

Seifer slowly got up and brushed himself off. "That last attack came out of desperation, and you know it. It wasn't nearly as wimpy as your other moves." Sora shot him a dirty look, until Seifer held up a hand. "Next time, things will be different. And I better not catch you losing to that chump, Hayner."

"Why, can't beat him either?" asked Sora.

"Don't get cocky," Seifer scoffed as he headed off towards Market Street. "Later." Sora watched him go as Hayner and the others approached.

"Man, that was a close match," commented Pence.

"But we knew you would win," added Olette with a smile.

"Heh," Sora scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, well now you gotta face me and I won't go easy on you just because we're friends," stated Hayner who was already making his way onto the battlefield.

"I hope not! I want a fair fight," added Sora as he followed him.

As the boys took their positions Sora couldn't help but feel excited. Hayner smirked as he braced himself for the starting bell. "Ready for round two?"

In that moment Sora didn't feel like himself. Someone else took the battle stance, ready for another chance to battle his best friend. It was then that Sora realized this feeling. _He_ must have fought Hayner in the last tournament.

_"Okay Roxas, let's show him what we can do," _Sora thought as the bell dinged.

Hayner wasted no time and charged right at Sora. It would be easy enough to dodge, but instead Sora rushed forward and struck. Struggle bat met struggle bat as the two clashed. Once, twice, thrice, neither one of them backing down. The crowd cheered them on as their scores remained tied. The battle had gone on for a while, yet neither one had landed a hit so far. The crowd was on its feet. The two bats were locked against the other. Hayner suddenly jumped back and came at Sora while the brunette was off balance. This attack earned Hayner a few points, but Sora came back and unleashed a combo strike earning double that.

The time was running out and the battle was heating up. The crowd counted down the final seconds before The two rushed each other and struck. The bell rang and the battle was over. The judge tallied the score and handed the card over to the ref.

"Winner of the finals by four points: Sora!"

The crowd cheered as Hayner lowered his bat. "Aw nuts! I lost!"

Sora just scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. He walked over to Hayner and held out his hand. "Hey, you gave me a tough fight."

"Yeah, well you're just lucky I wasn't on top of my game today," he replied while jabbing his fist at Sora, playfully.

After a few minutes the ref came back onto the field. "Sora has won the right to challenge Setzer for the championship title! Contestants, please step onto the field."

"Go get him!" cheered Olette

"You can beat 'im," added Pence while Hayner nodded.

Sora nodded with confidence and made his way to the center of the field where his opponent was already waiting. right away Sora didn't like him. That silver hair, tall demeanor and an attitude that made him believe he was better than anyone else reminded Sora of another silverette.

"What's with that look?" asked Setzer as he offered his hand for a sporting handshake.

Sora realized his fists were clenched as he forced them to relax and returned the jester. "Just a little tense, I guess."

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you, just let me win and I'll make it worth your while."

That comment struck a nerve and Sora became determined to beat this guy. Like he was going to win that easily? He had another thing coming.

Sora took his position while Setzer did the same on the other side of the field. The ref made sure both combatants were ready before ringing the starting bell.

Both charged at each other. Sora swung his bat and Setzer dodged to the right and countered, but Sora blocked it.

"I see, making it look good? Not a bad idea. Give these people a good show," Setzer called as he charged again. Sora jumped out of the way and struck the purple-caped opponent.

"This isn't what we discussed," he replied as he came at Sora again and again he blocked the attack.

"I'm not throwing the match! I'm in this to win, so you better get used to second place!"

Sora knocked Setzer off balance and was about to unleash a strong combo when a dark shadow had appeared over head. Sora stopped and jumped back just as something big slammed onto the area, shaking the ground from the impact.

When the dust cleared a large heartless with long, red claws and a red flowing mane roared at the crowd. It's large black and blue body only added to the creature's intimidating presence. Everyone began to panic scream as they fled the sandlot.

"A Dark Thorn?! But, what's it doing here?" asked Sora in utter shock. That's when he heard a familiar laugh.

"Oh, what's the matter runt? Can't fight without yer pals?"

Sora glared at the culprit, _"Pete!" _

Pete cupped his large hands together, "Hey, Thorny! hurry and take the kid's heart so we can go home!"

"What?!" Sora threw his struggle bat to the side as he went to draw Phoenix and jumped clear to avoid the Dark Thorn's attack as it brought one of its claws down.

Pete noticed Sora's new weapon and couldn't understand. Why didn't he use the Keyblade? "Awe, what am I worryin' about? The kid's as good as ours!"

Sora tried to fight off the massive heartless, but it wasn't as easy as last time. He didn't have Goofy, Donald or Beast to back him up, no keyblade and there was no chandelier in sight. To top it all off, Phoenix wasn't that effective against it.

"Agh!" he shouted in pain as the Dark Thorn struck Sora in his side. The force of the blow sending him crashing into the nearest wall. Sora used the wall for support as he struggled to stand up, trying to catch his breath. _"All that training, was it all for nothing? Without a Keyblade I'm nothing, but with it, I'm..."_

"Finish 'im off!" shouted Pete snapping Sora back into reality.

The Dark Thorn raised its massive claw and struck. Sora braced himself, the last thing he heard was the deafening roar of the giant heartless.

The Dark Thorn fell back from the explosion of heat caused by the spinning weapon that had struck it in its jaw. Sora opened his eyes slowly at first and then snapped them wide open at the sight before him. Axel and Demyx stood between Sora and the heartless, chakram and sitar in hand.

"Guys!" a smile plain on Sora's face. He'd never been so happy to see them.

"Didn't I tell you not to draw attention to yourself?" asked Axel as he caught his second chakram.

"But, I didn't-" Sora began but was cut off by Demyx, "-Yeah, right. We could hear the crowd cheering from the woods, ya big show off"

A loud roar cut off any further arguments as the three turned their attention back to the Dark Thorn which had recovered from Axel's attack.

Pete growled in annoyance at the nobodies meddling. He whistled and summoned more heartless. These were the average soldiers, shadows and rapid thrusters.

Demyx gave Sora a thumbs up, "We can take these guys. Axel, you handle the big one."

"Gee thanks," the red-head replied as he spun his flaming chakrams in his hands.

"Attack!" shouted Pete.

Sora struck down a shadow, relieved that Phoenix had no problem cutting them down. It took care of a soldier as well while Demyx summoned powerful jets of water with his sitar. a heartless came at Demyx from behind, but Sora struck it down before it could strike. The water-wielding nobody returned the favor when a thruster went to strike Sora from above. They were doing alright, but every time the heartless seemed to dwindle in number, Pete summoned more. Sora was doing well, but he was starting to tire.

"Hehe hahaha! Looks like yer runnin' out of steam. Why don't you use yer keyblade?" asked Pete.

Sora glared at him, but didn't answer. Pete chuckled with an evil smirk. "D'aww what's wrong, squirt? Afraid you'll kill another one of yer pals?"

An image of Kairi getting struck by the Keyblade flashed through Sora's mind and he saw red. Demyx turned to see Sora rush past him. Axel dodged another swipe from the Dark Thorn as he heard an angry roar. He thought it had come from the heartless, but as he turned his eyes widened.

That enraged roar came from Sora as he lept at Pete. That was what the villain was waiting for. He stepped to the side as a corridor of darkness opened where he had stood a moment before. At that moment Axel knew what was happening, but he wasn't able to stop it. Sora was about to vanish trough the portal when a blast of water rushed by, taking Sora with it. It splashed by one of the streets leading away from the sandlot. Demyx was standing there with a half-choked Sora, Demyx holding one of the kid's arms over his shoulder to support him.

"Axel, let's get outta here!"

Axel nodded and sent both chakrams into the air. they collided with each other and exploded into a blinding light sending a heat wave over the area. The weaker heartless were no match for the heat, neither was the already weakened Dark Thorn. Pete was forced to cover his face from the attack. When the blast subsided Pete growled to himself. The three were gone.

_~*~STL~*~_

As Cloud made his way into the town square he was greeted with a strange sight. Heartless were everywhere, but these were different. Instead of the strange jack-in-the-box monsters or the mummies, the place was crawling with Lance Soldiers and Rabid Dogs. They were going after the townspeople. Unsheathing his Fusion Sword, Cloud lept into action.

Lock, Shock and Barrel had thrown the last of their egg bombs and sticky candy at a Lance Soldier. It was covered in sticky gunk and was angry. Lance in hand, it charged at the troublesome trio. They braced themselves for the end, but it never came. The heartless was sliced clean in half before vanishing. The kids looked up and smiled when they saw Cloud standing where the heartless was.

"You saved us!" cried the witch.

"Don't mention it," replied Cloud as he moved on to help the others.

The mayor was surrounded by three Rabid Dogs. They constantly circled around him, making him dizzy. "Now, go on! Shoo! You fiendish canine brutes! Jack! Cloud! Anybody! I can't handle these mutts on my own!"

Angered by the insult, the dogs attacked, but were destroyed before they could get in a hit. The mayor opened one eye before his worried face spun to reveal his more cheerful expression. "Cloud! Oh thank Dracula, you're here!" He happily shouted as he approached the werewolf.

"When that horrible man with the fiery blue hair appeared I was quite shocked."

"Fiery blue hair?" Cloud didn't like the sound of that.

"Why, yes," the Mayor replied, "He appeared in a cloud of smoke and said he'd offer us a deal. Tell us where the soldier was and he'd make all of the heartless go away." The mayor looked around. "I have no idea what he means, we don't have any soldiers here. So, I told him to ask Dr. Finkelstein."

Cloud's eyes darted to the doctor's lab, before starting to make his way across the square.

"Wait!" shouted the mayor. "Where are you going? There's more heartless to fight!"

Cloud ignored him and kept going.

_. . ._

Inside the mad doctor's lab, Cloud moved carefully and silently. He could hear voices coming from down the hall. He stopped at the door and looked through the opening. Hades was growing impatient. "Look pal, I'm a busy guy. All I want is one answer. Have you seen a chump with spiky hair? Tell me where he is and I'll be outta your hair."

"I don't have any hair!" the mad doctor snapped. "And even if I knew who you were talking about, I don't trust you as far as I could throw you."

Hades tried very hard to keep his flaming hair from turning red. "Fine, then my heartless will just have to turn this place upside-down until they fi-"

Hades stopped in mid-sentence as he felt something sharp pricking his back.

"Looking for me?"

The lord of the underworld failed to hide the smirk that crawled up the side of his face. "So, the chump thinks he can threaten me? You forget who you're dealing with."

Cloud wasn't impressed. Ever since he found out Hades was here he had been trying to figure out why he had been looking for him. Until it occurred to him, it was about their deal. "If you've come about the contract, you blew it when you had your whimpering mutt attack me. I owe you nothing."

Hades vanished in a puff on dark smoke before re-appearing right beside the soldier. "And that's where you're wrong. See, your contract said to kill Hercules, and last I checked, his ticker is still tickin'. So, I still own you."

Cloud glared at the villain. "I don't think so."

Hades gave out a dark chuckle. "I don't need you to think, I need you to fight. And fight you will. In the Underdrome, to the death. In fact, for the rest of eternity!"

Cloud raised his sword to strike, but Hades was one step ahead. He struck the soldier with a blast of fire and smoke which engulfed him. When the smoke vanished, Cloud was gone.

Hades let out a chuckle that was laced with a mixture of pure delight and malice. "That just made my day. Nice doing business with you, Doc. As promised, the bike is yours."

Dr. Finkelstein pounded his small fist against the arm of his chair. "Are you finished? You got what you wanted, now leave. I'm going to be very busy trying to figure this thing out and put it to good use."

Hades rolled his eyes as the mad scientist rolled away. "Yeesh, though crowd." With that he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

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><p><strong><em>Poof?<em>**

**_I also wanted to thank Dinowriter23 for all of their reviews. This chapter probably would have taken a lot longer had it not been for your helpful input. And thank you to everyone who has left a review. ^_^  
><em>**

**_Edit: I just realized that a little bit of the ending was cut off. So, it's now fixed. _**


	22. And the Drumbeat Carries On

**_I know, another short chapter, but short chapter is better than none. Good news: this isn't the chapter I've been working on, so another update shouldn't be that far off. You can thank a band called Nickleback for this chapter's existence. If you know who they are you can guess which song by the chapter's title. :)_**

**_Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. _**

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><p>Chapter 22<p>

Demyx and Axel ran as fast as their feet could carry them, Demyx was having trouble keeping up with Sora in tow. "Are they after us?"

Axel slowed a little, but didn't turn his head. "I'm not lookin'!"

As the two darted in front of the commuter trolley Sora recovered enough to run on his own. They kept running until they got to the woods. Demyx and Axel collapsed on the grass while Sora leaned against a tree.

"How the heck...did they find...us?" asked Demyx between gasps.

"I don't know, dumb luck?" replied Axel, equally out of breath. He looked over at the youngest of their group. "Sora, you okay over there?"

Sora's hand that was pressed against the tree clenched into a fist as he struggled to catch his breath. Suddenly he weakly punched the trunk.

Demyx raised an eyebrow, "I'm gonna take that as a no."

"I'm fine," Sora lied. Axel saw right through it though.

Demyx got up and threw a brotherly arm around Sora's shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. you can't win every fight. There's no shame in runnin' when you're out-numbered-"

"I said I'm FINE!" Sora shoved Demyx back and boarded the ship that was hidden behind a cluster of trees a few yards away. Axel glared over at the aquatic musician who held up his hands in confusion.

"What?!"

"You don't pay attention, do you? Didn't you hear what the big guy said to Sora?"

"Sorry, I was a little busy trying to stay alive," Demyx retorted causing Axel to facepalm.

Back on the ship Sora was sitting at the desk in the room that Axel had brought him to before. It had become a quiet place for him to think and it was sound proof in case he broke down. It had happened only once since the night he lost it in Mysterious tower, but it wasn't nearly as painful. At least no one could see him in such a state this time.

There was a knock at the door as the blonde nobody poked his head inside. "Sora?"

He saw the kid at the desk and entered. He leaned against the desk and set his hands on the edge. "I'm sorry that I butted into your fight, but you would've fallen into a trap."

"I know," the younger teen replied in a monotone voice that completely lacked the normal, cheerful Sora attitude. Demyx sighed at the loss. All that improvement the kid had made over the past week or so had been flushed down the drain.

"Look man, I don't know what that guy meant, but I know you'd never attack a friend. I mean, Axel told me what happened in Hallow Bastion after you defeated me..."

Demyx waited for Sora to correct him for getting the world's name wrong, when he didn't the nobody sighed and continued, "When that one pal of yours got hit you, the duck and the mouse king charged ahead and took down every single heartless that stood in your way, and those guys were no shadows. they were some of the toughest heartless around!"

"That's only because Leon and the others helped," Sora replied, still not rasing his head.

"The way I heard it, you took down a thousand heartless on your own. That's something to be proud of! Man, if I were that tough, no one would be calling me a moron."

Sora turned his head the other way. A single, silent tear had landed on his hand.

Demyx' friendly smile slowly faded as he admitted defeat. "I wish you'd let us in, Sora. We want to help. When I was in the organization I was treated like a tool. We weren't allowed to make friends because they fed us that bull crap that nobodies had no feelings. When I saw you in the Coliseum and then again in Hallow Bastion, I got to see what real friendship was. Thinking back, I know why you beat us. Because you had all that support. Hercules, Leon, that spiky-haired dude with the big sword, they all had your back..."

Demyx stopped when Sora let out an annoyed sigh. He slowly got up and headed for the door, stopping in the doorway. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I wish I had that kind of support. Maybe then I would've made better choices, like Axel did. He had Roxas to turn to. I had nobody."

He took one step out of the door.

"I'll have your back."

Demyx stopped and turned to see Sora looking at him with a small smile. The melodious nocturne returned one of his own. "Heh, thanks pal. Now what do ya say we get outta here and go somewhere else where those stupid heartless won't follow?"

Sora wiped his eyes and nodded. "Yeah."

_. . ._

Demyx and Sora made it to the bridge of the ship where Axel was already getting the ship ready to leave. "Heartless are starting to appear in the woods. It's only a matter of time before they spot the ship."

"So, what world is safe from them, then?" asked Sora.

"Long-range scanners show there is one world that doesn't have any heartless present. It's a ways off though," Axel replied.

"Well, we better get started. They're getting a little too close outside," Demyx pointed out the window. A group of soldier heartless were only a few yards away and coming closer.

"Well, buckle up, cause I'm takin' off."

Sora and Demyx did so, and after the launch he had endured in Radiant Garden Sora was not looking forward to it.

The soldiers were just starting to poke the bushes when flames from the Flaring Comet blew them away as the engines set a few others on fire. The ship climbed slowly into the sky before shooting off into the starry beyond.

A figure stood on the ledge of the clock tower and watched the ship rocket into the sky. When the ship was gone the figure, who was concealed in the shadows vanished, leaving a single black feather behind to float slowly down to the ground below.

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><p><strong><em><span>mOOnlite-duskk<span>:_ _I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. reviews like that always bring a smile to my face. ^_^ Haha, Oh, I know what you mean, there's a few stories on here that have the same effect on me. I won't try to make you wait too long._**

**_DinoWriter23_****_: You're welcome. you're reviews helped fight off writer's block. N'aww thank you, I know I'm not the best when it comes to battle scenes, but I always try to do better. Oh, Setzer? Yeah, I never liked him in the game and it really irked me when he asked Roxas to lose for him. He always enjoy beating him, even when he runs out of orbs I just keep wailing on him. xD  
><em>**

**_These future chapters may take a little longer to update than usual. Chapter 23 has already been started, but chapters 24 and 25 have some kinks that need to be tweaked. That's because there's something big happening and I want to make sure it's done right. _**


	23. Don't Mess with a She Wolf

_**I apologize this took me so long to update. I had it almost finished a week ago, but then I didn't like how it turned out. It was very different to this newer version, so I'll include it in the deleted chapters of the spin-off story that I will start uploading soon. It will mainly be filled with short or half-written chapters that didn't make the final cut as well as alternate chapters. You might like some better than what was chosen to stay in the main story, but eh~ either way it works out and paints a better picture overall. It will also feature chapters of worlds the characters visit that were never shown in the main story. **_

_**Oh my gosh! 70+ reviews?! and how many favs/follows?! You guys are awesome! Thank you so much. I'm completely humbled by your support. TwT  
><strong>_

_**Again, this chapter isn't very long, but trust me, there's a reason for it. ;)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Three<strong>

The Black Pearl sailed through the vast regions of space with Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm. He and his crew had been selected to go on several missions to keep the vastly growing number of heartless in check, or at the very least manageable.

Down on deck Aladdin leaned over to whisper into his shipmate's ear. "I still say we should have brought Skellington along. It is his world we're going to next, right?"

Riku glanced up at the captain before whispering back, "From what I heard Sparrow refused to let him come. Something about there being room for only one Jack on the Pearl,"

"Oyi! Shut it down there!" called the Captain, "We're on a mission to vanquish heartless, not gossip like old hens! Get back to your posts!"

"Who died and made him sultan," Aladdin mumbled as he headed back to his station.

Riku just shook his head. In secret, he was glad to finally be away from the tower. Two weeks of training with Merlin and mastering difficult spells was starting to wear him out. He owed this break to Tifa. She barged in through the doors and pulled Riku by his arm saying they just got assigned to an important mission. Merlin's protests fell on deaf ears as she kept walking and before Riku knew it he was on the pirate ship heading out into space.

Tifa emerged from the galley and looked out at the scenery. Just some distant stars in the empty void, but it was still pretty. She approached where Riku was standing and leaned on the rail. "It sure feels nice to get away from all the chaos."

Riku smirked as he looked out into the distance. "Thanks for getting me out of training,"

"You looked like you needed a break," she replied not taking her eyes off the stars.

"Oyi, Silver head! I told you to stow it! Grab a mop and start swabbin'!"

"I told you, my name is Riku," replied the silverette as he glared up at the captain.

Jack was making sure he was respected as a proper captain this time, "I don't care if you had wings, I said swab!"

Riku was about to argue further when Tifa placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at her as she walked past him, a deadly gleam was shining in her eyes. With a nervous gulp, Riku stayed put. Tifa made her way up the steps. She poked Jack on the shoulder, making him turn around.

"And what do you want, luv?"

SMACK!

Jack was knocked over and fell onto the floor hard. The captain had gotten slapped many times before, but no one could match the wrath of Tifa.

"Show a key bearer more respect and don't you _**ever**_ call me 'luv' again!" With that, Tifa took control of the helm and charted a course to the next world.

As the Black Pearl descended upon the world of Halloween Town, the crew was greeted with a strange sight. Heartless were running wild through town. mummies, Ghostly jack-in-the-boxes, rabid dogs and lance soldiers along with countless shadows.

Aladdin was rendered speechless by the vast numbers. Jack pointed when he saw a flash of red zipping through the mass of heartless. "That must be the boss!"

Tifa smiled and shook her head, "No, he's one of us."

Riku looked more closely and saw the man in the red cloak was fighting against the heartless. Slashing with his golden claws and firing at long-range targets with his triple-barrel gun.

Tifa got the ship low enough to drop anchor just outside of town. The group jumped off and hurried to help their friend fight. Vincent glared at his weapon when he ran out of ammo and put it away while he relied solely on his claws. Tifa was soon fighting alongside him.

"Need a hand?"

Vincent huffed as he took out another lance soldier. "You're late,"

Tifa punched a shadow as she quickly placed a hand on her hips. "You're welcome."

Riku glared daggers at a jack-in-the-box who had just hit him in the back with its scythes. "Firaga!" he shouted as he sent a large fireball blazes towards it. The heartless didn't stand a chance and was completely incinerated.

Tifa smiled as she saw how easily he had defeated it. "Looks like that training paid off!"

Riku smirked at her before heading off to fight another. Jack and Aladdin teamed up to fight with their swords while Tifa used all of her fighting skill. She didn't need a weapon. Her knock-out punches and power-house kicks were more than a match for these creatures. It didn't take long before all of the heartless were gone.

Vincent looked around before leaning against the fountain to catch his breath. Tifa handed him a potion which he accepted. "Thanks,"

Jack looked around the square. The damage was extensive and all of the residents were nowhere to be seen. "What happened here?"

"Hades," Vincent's reply was quick and sharp, "he came here for one reason."

"And what reason was that?" asked Riku.

"He wanted Cloud."

"What?!" Tifa instantly worried. "Why would he be after Cloud?"

"And how would Hades know to come here?" asked Aladdin.

Vincent stood up. "I don't have all of the answers. I just know what I saw. Cloud was here for a while recovering from his injuries and he was counting on the mad doctor to repair his vehicle. Hades came with countless heartless. He went into the doctor's lab, Cloud followed and that was the last I saw of either of them."

"How long ago was that?" asked Tifa.

"Two days. I've been fighting the heartless on my own ever since."

"Where are the town's people?"

"The mayor and Sally had them evacuate to Christmas Town."

Riku looked back towards the doctor's lab. "Did the doctor evacuate with the rest of them?"

Vincent shook his head.

That made the choice easy for Riku. "Let's go get some answers." The group followed him towards the lab.

As the group made their way inside Tifa stopped when something caught her eye. "Hey, guys! Look at us!"

The others stopped and noticed her appearance first. She had a pair of furry black dog-like ears. Her eyes seemed to shine in the darkness. She had fangs and claws that poked out of the tips of her gloves. She also had a furry black tail.

Riku resembled a vampire, but while one of his wings appeared bat-like the other was a white angel wing. If anything it matched the design of his keyblade perfectly.

Aladdin looked like a mummy while Jack looked like a Sea rat. "Well, when in Rome," Tifa commented as she continued up the spiraled path.

_. . ._

Dr. Finkelstein was confident that Cloud wouldn't be back for his bike, so he surmised that Fenrir was now his property and he could do with it as he pleased. He had begun to take it apart and did his best to figure out what each part did and attach different pieces to some of his own contraptions.

Using a buzzsaw, he worked hard to try and open one of the hidden side compartments that contained the separate blades of the Fusion Sword for easy use. He had almost gotten it open when a gloved hand pulled the plug on the saw, causing it to stop with a pitiful whine.

"What's wrong with this stupid thing," asked the mad scientist as he hit the tool, trying to get it going again.

He wasn't prepared for the amazing strength of the she-wolf who grabbed him by the collar of his lab coat, pulled him free of his wheelchair and slammed his back against the wall, holding him dangling in the air.

Seeing this guy trying to slice and dice her friend's motorcycle had put her in a dangerous mood.

"What do you think you're doing? ANSWER ME!" She slammed him against the wall again, making it clear she was in no mood for games.

Riku and the others stood back a safe distance, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

"I'm working, what does it look like?" he choked.

"I mean with that bike! How did you get it and why are you trying to destroy it?!"

"It's mine," he gasped.

"Liar!" Tifa slammed him against the wall again, almost knocking him out cold. Her fangs were bared and a low growl rumbled in her throat.

"Tell me the truth, Or I'll tear you apart,"

"Oh, go ahead, my body's half useless anyway," he rasped as Tifa's grip around his throat tightened.

Riku approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tifa, we need him alive or we'll never find out where Cloud is,"

"I'm two seconds away from not caring. If he doesn't spill it I'm going to burn this place to the ground!"

"I'd comply if I were you, mate," added Jack from his safe place behind Aladdin.

Dr. Finkelstein finally gave in and spilled the beans. "It was my part of the deal with Hades, he wanted the werewolf and offered the bike which I had been previously trying to fix."

"Werewolf?" asked Tifa who glanced back at the others.

"Cloud had wolf ears," commented Vincent.

Tifa turned back to glare at the doctor. "Where did Hades take him?"

"He said something about making him fight, the guy refused and then Hades made him vanish in a large smokescreen, Gak! that's all I know," he was starting to black out from the loss of oxygen from Tifa's death grip.

When she realized it she let go and he dropped to the floor, clutching his throat and taking in some much needed air. She then walked over to the pieces of Fenrir that were scattered here and there before turning to the group.

"Grab everything that looks like it belongs to the bike, we're taking it with us,"

"To where?" asked Aladdin.

"To someone who can fix it, of course, Cloud will need it in one piece."

Tifa picked up the heaviest piece and headed out the door leaving the others to stare in shock. They did as she ordered and picked up everything they could find of Fenrir and left, leaving the mad scientist alone in an empty room.

_. . ._

Once all of the pieces were safely on the ship, Vincent began to walk back down the platform and onto the path leading back into the forest.

"You're not coming?" asked Aladdin.

"There are still heartless running around," he replied.

"Yeah, but there's a bigger battle to fight. We need everyone we can get to help when the time comes," added Riku.

When it was clear Vincent wasn't getting what they meant Tifa came out and said it, "We're going to challenge Maleficent in full force. Once Cloud finds Sora and brings him back, but first we need to go to Radiant Garden, find a mechanic, repair Cloud's bike and rescue him from wherever Hades sent him."

"Which could be anywhere," Jack added.

"Not really," Riku replied. "Hades wants him to fight, there's only one place the lord of the underworld could send him to do that."

Vincent boarded the ship. "You're right, you do need all the help you can get."

Tifa hurried over to the helm as the others hoisted the anchor. "We've got to hurry."


	24. The Price of Freedom is Steep

_**Yes, this chapter was updated quickly. Why? Because it's one of the chapters that I've had planned for a good while now. These next two chapters are some of my favorites for the entire story. And it's just a small taste of even bigger things to come. This chapter is again, short, but I always try to have a reason for the short chapters. I've already started on the next chapter as well, but it's a lot longer and not even half-way done yet. I promise I won't make you wait too long though. x3**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Four<strong>

Cloud Strife had lost track of how long he had been fighting, but if he had to guess it would have been around two days or more. The heartless Hades kept sending into battle weren't very strong but every time he would clear the field the lord of the dead would send in a new wave that was even stronger. Cloud had just defeated four Assault Riders and three Large bodies when Hades decided to see if the fighter was at his breaking point.

Cloud was taking a moment to catch his breath when he heard a ferocious bark that sounded all too familiar. Turning around, he cursed as Cerberus entered the arena. The three-headed hound glared at its prey and drooled, obviously looking forward to playing with its new toy, and savoring the idea of its next snack.

Cloud separated his sword into two blades. He kept his mind focused, but couldn't help but wonder what Hades would send in after this. He was hoping this was the final battle he'd have to fight.

The battle was more difficult than it should have been. Cloud was much stronger than the last time he had encountered the monster mutt, but fatigue was really beginning to set in, giving the large dog the edge in terms of speed. The head to the right had managed to chomp down on Cloud's left arm, only to howl in pain when Cloud stabbed its tongue. The warrior managed to pull his arm free, but the effort earned himself a fresh gash. It wasn't very deep, but the fact that scarlet droplets dotted the floor around him wasn't a good sign.

The other two heads were furious that their companion had been injured and came at Cloud from different sides. All he had to do was jump high enough and the two heads collided into each other. Cloud smirked slightly at the stupidity of Hades' faithful pet. Was this really the best the ruler of the underworld had to throw at him?

The head that had its tongue stabbed came at him from above. Cloud noticed the shadow and jumped to avoid it, but the hound had managed to grab his foot and chomped down hard only to let go and howl in pain as Cloud slashed at its muzzle, forcing it to release its hold on him.

Cloud grunted in pain as he landed on his injured foot. The other two heads had recovered and were even more furious than before. The warrior had to end this now.

Connecting the two blades together, his sword began to radiate with a blue flame as he swung it forward. The swords all separated and hovered in a circle in midair, confusing the three heads.

Using his good foot, Cloud leapt into the air and began his finishing move; Omnislash. He struck the heads several times before taking the last sword and launching himself downward striking the middle head and landing hard on the floor below. The dog gave one last whimper before it collapsed and vanished.

Cloud relaxed for a moment while he held his still bleeding arm. He would have used a potion if he had any left. A puff of smoke appeared to his left causing him to raise his sword. Hades chuckled evilly at the injured hero.

"Having fun yet?"

"Depends," he replied, "are you my next opponent?"

Hades gave him a smug grin. Cloud was getting a very bad feeling.

"Not quite, Spiky. Ya see, I've been trying to think of the best way to deal with a pest like you. Naturally I came up with several great ideas, but none of them had a fitting end for the mighty Cloud Strife. So, I did some research and found the three best fighters in all of the underworld that would be up to the job. And get this, when I mentioned who they'd be fighting they couldn't say yes fast enough."

Cloud merely scoffed at the idea. "Sorry, I'm not ready to kick the bucket yet."

"That's not your call."

Hades snapped his fingers and three clouds of smoke appeared. One on each side of the warrior and one in front of him. Three men in different length silver hair wearing black leather outfits stepped out. Cloud glared at them, he knew these three all too well. They were Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj.

They were once remnants of Sephiroth, what was left the first time he had been defeated. Cloud had fought them before and won, but he hadn't escaped unscathed. This time it would be far more difficult and somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if he'd even survive this time.

Kadaj stepped forward. "Hello big brother, we've missed you."

"Don't cry, Kadaj," replied Yazoo.

Loz chuckled as he readied the strange electric weapon that was attached to his arm and extended from his wrist to his elbow. "Let's play."

_. . ._

The little imps Pain and Panic had taken a break from watching the marathon fight to check on the other combatants, making sure they weren't getting too rowdy or complacent because the main arena had been occupied for the past couple of days. Currently, they were taking a walk with one of the more cheerful fighters as he jogged around one of the paths, darting the random heartless that would pop up every now and then, sensing a possible victim.

"So, when's Hades going to resume normal fights? I want to get back to earning my freedom."

Pain and Panic tried to keep up with the energetic man as he slowly pulled ahead of them, only to slow down and allow them to catch up.

"You could always offer him a deal and ask for your freedom that way," Pain suggested.

The man shook his head. "Nah, I know how his deals work out, always in his favor and he can cancel them anytime he wants or come up with some sort of fine print or loop-hole. Nope, I'm going to earn my freedom the honest way."

Panic stopped to catch his breath. "You could always challenge him. Fight someone in the ring and risk losing your soul, but no one's ever won that way."

"Hmm," the man folded his arms in thought. That had never occurred to him. A sudden scream of pain snapped him out of his thoughts.

Pain chuckled. "Sounds like Hades finally got him!"

Panic nodded with a smile. "Yeah, hey it sounds like the arena will be open again soon."

The two imps looked back, but the man they were talking to was gone.

_. . ._

Cloud put up a fight, but the injuries he had sustained from his last battle, combined with fatigue was forcing him to stay on the defensive and he was struggling just to do that.

Yazoo had fired several rounds from his gunblade. Cloud had barely dodged them, earning several grazes along his arms and one on his cheek. He had just barely avoided getting shocked from Loz' weapon and when he tried fight back against a sneak attack from Yazoo, Loz tried again, successfully striking him in his back.

Cloud fell to his knees, but managed to stand back up, slowly. Kadaj, who had been standing by and watching decided it was his turn.

"How does it feel, brother? Being all alone, with no one to save you? Surrounded by others who shun and loathe you? Now you know how we felt. Now you know the pain we suffered at the hands of you and your friends. Our mother is lost once again, and it's all your fault."

He readied his sword. "Now you'll pay. Hades was kind enough to give us this chance for revenge,..."

he raised his double-bladed sword in front of his face as Yazoo and Loz backed away.

"...and I'm going to enjoy it."

Fast as lightning, Kadaj launched himself forward. Cloud tried to dodge, but the shock he had endured from Loz had stunned him, giving his opponent a good opening for a strong attack. He struck Cloud several times, carving deep gashes across his arms and legs before unleashing the serious blow. Stabbing him in the back, just missing his spine.

Cloud screamed in pain as Kadaj ripped the blade out, causing even more damage. The silverette laughed gleefully as his victim fell to the ground. Cloud struggled to his knees and couched up some blood.

Kadaj raised his arms out, the sword in his hands stained with blood. "Are you watching Mother? I hope I'm making you proud! You've waited for this for a very long time and now,..."

He nodded to Loz and Yazoo.

"...now we will avenge you."

As the three circled him, preparing for the final blow, Cloud tried to think of a way out. He had no potions, he couldn't use Omnislash again. He barely had the strength to stand, let alone defend against this attack. There was no way to survive this. Not unless a miracle happened.

Something flashed in Cloud's mind; an image of Tifa. For once, the warrior let these thoughts overtake his vision. He'd never see her again. He had let the resistance down. He didn't find Sora, he couldn't find his own light, he had nothing left. Maybe he should have let Donald and Goofy tag along.

Loz and Yazoo looked over at their brother who nodded. Kadaj raised his sword. "...For Mother."

The three launched towards Cloud at the same time. All he saw was a blur and a bright light.


	25. Wings of Steel

_**I know I left it on quite the cliffhanger. That wasn't on purpose...this time. xD Seriously, I had it mostly done and then my computer decided it wanted to delete the unfinished chapter. So, I had to rewrite it. I think it turned out better than the first version. Listening to Journey's "Separate Ways" really helped out too. Lyrics aside, the music makes for an awesome fight scene. Oldie or not, it's such an awesome song. :) **_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Five<strong>

The sun was starting to set on the city of Radiant Garden. Cid had been busy most of the day running a new program through the computer system for Leon, making sure there was no more tampering while Tron helped from his end. Now he was sitting back and relaxing while tinkering with his coffee maker that Yuffie had knocked over and broken earlier.

He had just finished repairing it and was reaching it out to put it back on the shelf when his front door flew open and slammed against the wall. Cid shouted in surprise and dropped the coffee maker which broke again upon hitting the floor.

"The hell!" he shouted in anger until he saw Tifa stroll in with...what looked like...a piece of...

"What happened to Fenrir?!" he shouted in utter shock as the tooth pick fell out of his mouth.

Riku, Vincent and the others followed in behind her with other pieces. Cid just stood there in stunned silence. He had just repaired this thing not long ago not to mention upgraded it to travel in between worlds.

"We need you to fix it ASAP." Tifa told him as she brushed her hands off.

"What'd Cloud do this time? Crash it into an asteroid?! Where is he?"

"He's not here," Vincent replied.

"He'd rather wait on that asteroid than face me? Smart guy."

"Just fix it!" Tifa snapped.

She headed out the door, Jack and Aladdin wisely getting out of her way.

Cid turned and frowned as he stuck another tooth pick in his mouth. "He definitely doesn't pick 'em for their personality, GAH!"

Cid fell over as small metal nut struck him in the back of the head.

"Sorry, missed a piece," Tifa commented with a glare as she stormed off.

Riku was suddenly very thankful he was on Tifa's good side. Vincent headed out the door, but Riku decided to stay behind and help, which Cid appreciated. He gave the bike (or what was left of it) a look over.

"This could take a while."

Riku walked over to a corner and returned with a toolbox. "Then we better get started."

_~*~StL~*~_

Seconds seemed like an eternity to the wounded swordsman. He expected pain, but it didn't come. There was a clash of steel, and then nothing.

"Who the hell are you?!" demanded Kadaj through clenched teeth.

Cloud opened his eyes and was surprised by what had unfolded. Loz and Yazoo were both on the ground. Loz rubbing the back of his head and Yazoo rubbing his chin. Lifting his gaze upwards he saw Kadaj pressing his blade against the blunt end of a large buster sword.

"Just someone who wanted to crash the party."

That voice! No, that was impossible. Cloud looked up only to meet the gaze of an old friend.

"That's not a name," whined Loz as he stood up.

"You wanna name? Fine." The man forced Kadaj back as he swung his sword out, only to have it rest on his shoulders.

"Zack Fair. SOLDIER, First class."

Zack looked down at his friend who was too stunned to speak. Zack laughed. "Just like ol' times, 'ey Spiky?"

His old nickname seemed to snap him back to reality. He tried to rise, but fell again due to his injuries. Zack noticed and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder while casting Cure to heal him.

"I know you're probably tired, after fighting for two days straight, but you think you're up to one last go 'round with these guys? They look tough."

Now almost fully healed; Cloud got to his feet and stood along-side his friend, "Not really. They're just a bunch of Momma's boys who missed their nap."

A sound that seemed like a cross between a squeal and a whimper came from Loz.

"Don't cry, Loz," Yazoo told his brother.

"But, he's mean."

"Brother was always mean," Kadaj replied as he glared at their two opponents.

The five readied their weapons and prepared for round two when Hades appeared in the middle.

"Whoa, whoa, guys. Time-out," he held up his hands in a T-shape to call a halt. "I don't remember seeing your name pop up on the list of challenges, Fair, and certainly not on the hero's side."

Zack snorted in response. "You forget, I am a hero. Well, in training. I never made it past rookie according to Phil."

Cloud raised an eye brow, how could his friend be considered anything but a hero?

"How did you get here anyway?" he asked his friend who smiled sheepishly in response.

"Well,...it's kind of a long story."

"Something we don't have time for," Hades interrupted. "Now, Zack, get lost so These guys can finish Spiky off. You can bond all you want once he joins you in the afterlife."

"Hey!" Zack shouted, "Only I can call him that!" Hades rolled his eyes.

Cloud glanced at his friend. "Join? Zack, what does he mean?"

"I'm kinda stuck here, since I'm not exactly among the living."

The blonde swordsman paled. His friend had been stuck here this whole time? In this hell? Ruled by this con artist? Cloud clenched the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Yada, yada, Zack's soul is stuck here, whop-te-do. Now, let's get back to the match shall we?" asked Hades as he prepared to send Zack away.

"Double or nothing."

Hades stopped and looked at Cloud. "'Scuse me?"

"I win, Zack gets a second chance. I lose you get me."

Zack turned to his friend. "Are you crazy?! I won't let you do it!"

Cloud ignored him completely, "Well? do we have a deal or not?"

Hades pondered over this for a moment. "Hmm, The guy's half dead anyway and all I'm betting is an annoying loud mouth,..."

"Going once," Cloud counted.

"Is there a downside to this?" the god of the underworld continued to mumble to himself.

"Going twice,"

"Okay! okay, okay, It's a deal," Hades held out his hand. "You win, you both go free, you lose and I send you to destroy the resistance."

Cloud glared daggers at Hades as he accepted the handshake.

With the deal set Hades started to step back. "Not like you two stand a chance anyway." With that he vanished and returned back to his seat to watch the fun.

Zack could only shake his head. Part of him was mad at Cloud for risking his life like that for him, but on the other hand he was glad. It was nice to have a true friend who had your back.

Zack looked at their opponents before smirking back at his friend. "Yep, just like old times."

Cloud smirked as he readied himself, "Not really. This time we both fight."

Zack couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

"This is gonna be awesome."

Cloud huffed with a smirk as Kadaj sneered at the duo. Their very presence was making him sick. He raised his sword and nodded to his brothers. Round two had begun.

Loz ran towards Zack, using his agility skills to zig and zag around the soldier. Zack smirked as he readied his blade, not letting on that he could follow the guy's every move. Loz darted behind him and charged up his weapon for an attack when it was blocked by the blunt end of the buster sword. Loz sneered at Zack who returned a calm smile.

"My turn!"

He pushed Loz back and then charged at him, raising the large sword as if it didn't weigh a thing. Loz dodged at the soldier swung, the blade missing his head, but slices a few strands of his already short hair. Loz watched the strands fall to the ground and tried not to sniffle.

"You ruined my hair," he whined.

"Uh,...sorry?" It was really all Zack could say, though it was odd that in a fight of life and death the guy was worried about his hair.

He came at Zack again and managed to land a solid punch. Zack spit out a bit of blood before glaring at his speedy foe. "That's how you wanna play, huh? Fine."

He strapped his sword to his back and held his fists a the ready. "Bring it on, Tinkerbell."

Cloud took on both Yazoo and Kadaj. The latter coming at him directly with his sword while the former hung towards the background and fired his weapon at him. Cloud blocked and dodged every hit. It was much easier now that his injuries were healed.

"I think brother's gotten stronger," Yazoo commented as he rushed past his brother to get in another shot.

"I realize that,..." Kadaj snapped, "but it doesn't matter. He's still going to pay!"

He struck out at the blonde swordsman again only to clash steel with his blade. The two fighters were locked in a struggle as Kadaj tried to push the other back. Glancing over his shoulder, Cloud could see why. Kadaj was trying to push him over the edge. Normally there was a barrier that kept a fighter from falling, but he guessed Hades had removed it. This was a fight to the death of sorts. Naturally he would find a way to cheat.

While Cloud tried to push back against Kadaj, Yazoo appeared to his left and fired, forcing the swordsman to shift in order to avoid getting hit, but he lost ground and was being forced back.

Kadaj smiled as he prepared to shove his hated enemy over the edge when Loz came out of no where and crashed into him, sending them both flying to the left. Cloud looked over to where Loz had come from and saw Zack wiping his hands.

"Now _that _was a punch, ya big sissy."

Cloud smirked, "You always did throw a mean left hook."

The two looked over at the unconscious heap that was Loz and Kadaj. Loz had a nice purple bruise forming on his cheek as it started to swell.

"Look out!"

Zack suddenly shoved his friend out of the way as a bullet just missed the swordsman's head. The soldier didn't realize that the protective barrier had been removed until Cloud started falling over the edge. Zack grabbed his arm at the last moment.

Cloud hit the side of the arena and winced from the impact before looking up.

"Why didn't you tell me the barrier was gone?" Zack asked.

"Why do you think they were trying to push me over the edge?" Cloud retorted.

Zack began trying to pull his friend up when he heard Yazoo cock his weapon back and aimed his weapon at Zack. He was too far off for the soldier to stop him. He looked down at his friend.

"Ready for a flying lesson?"

Yazoo chuckled and started to pull the trigger when Zack summoned his strength and threw his friend up into the air. Cloud rose above the battle field and separated his sword into two blades before coming down at Yazoo from above. The remnant fired, but his shots only bounced off his attacker's steel wings. Cloud struck and Yazoo fell; his weapon cut clean in half.

The match was over. Cloud and Zack were the victors. Hades appeared in a blaze of fire this time, his flaming hair was red as was the rest of him. "You two! You must have cheated me!"

"You only cheated yourself," Cloud replied cooly.

"But how can you still be that strong after two straight days of fighting?! I want a rematch!"

Zack shook his head, "Man, talk about a sore loser."

Hades glared at Zack. "You! This is all your fault!"

He aimed a fireball at the soldier when a bolt of lightning struck and a tall man with white hair and a purple greek robe appeared between the enraged lord of the underworld and the two fighters.

Zack smiled. "Hey, Zeus! Been a while, how's Hercules?"

Cloud just stood there, not knowing what to say.

The man turned and beamed a smile at the two. "Hello Zack! My son's stronger than ever thanks to Phil constantly keeping him on his toes."

Zeus then turned to Hades. "Don't tell me you've forgotten your contract."

Cloud leaned over to Zack, "Contract?"

Zack just shrugged. He had no clue.

Hades glared at his brother. "No, I haven't forgotten it."

"Oh really?" asked the lord of thunder who jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Because it looked like you were about to attack these two boys. I've been watching and I'd say they've earned their freedom."

Cloud didn't miss the large smile that lit up Zack's face.

"Unless, of course you want me to seal up the Underdrome again. This time with a permanent lock that is Keyblade proof."

Hades growled as his upper lip quivered with rage. It took everything in him to hold his temper. He turned his back on the three.

"Just. Go." He spat the words like venom.

Zeus clapped his hands together, which sounded like a blast of thunder; the arena only adding to the echoing boom. "C'mon boys, you heard him. Let's go."


	26. Lacking Sleep - Gaining Fins

_**Well, this update came a bit sooner than I planned. At least my writing muse is back. for a while I was starting to get worried. Someone asked where Sora was in the last chapter. Well, don't worry. Sora is the main character of the story and will be getting a lot of screen time in future chapters, starting with this one. He just has to share some of the spotlight with other characters on occasion. x3**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Six<strong>

The Flaring Comet had been cruising along at a steady rate and for once all was peaceful. Axel manned the controls while the other two spent their time playing a game of cards.

"Draw two," declared Sora as he laid a card on the pile.

Demyx did so and his eyes lit up when he saw what he pulled from the deck. "Draw four, yellow!"

Sora pouted a bit as he counted the cards. He had been close to winning, "I'll get you yet, Dem."

"Sure, keep tellin' yourself that."

Sora placed a card down on the pile before trying to stifle a yawn, one that seemed to keep going.

"You're gonna get lockjaw if you keep that up," called Axel from the pilot's seat.

Sora shook his head to wake himself up.

"You okay?" asked a concerned Demyx.

"Yeah, just haven't been getting good sleep lately," replied the obviously tired brunette.

"Too much caffeine?"

"No,"

"Where else do you get all that energy from?"

"That's just how I am," Sora went to say more, but another yawn cut him off.

"Sure," Demyx said, rolling his eyes before getting up.

"C'mon."

"Where are we going?" the younger teen asked.

"We're going to take a walk around the ship, you need something to keep you awake right?"

"Yeah, but why are you coming?"

"To make sure you don't pass out in some random hall; saves me and Axel a few hours of searching."

"Oh,..." Sora lazily got up and followed Demyx off the bridge of the ship.

Axel just shook his head and continued steering.

As the two walked, Demyx couldn't help but notice the dark circles under the kid's eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept well in a few days and he was more irritated than normal. Two big signs that he had been suffering many sleepless nights.

"You can talk about it, yanno. I don't think we could use nightmares as an advantage over you."

Sora glanced at Demyx, a hint of suspicion plain on his face until he saw the look of concern Demyx was showing. He honestly was worried. Sora gave in and kept walking.

"I've been having nightmares,"

"You know they're not real, right? There's no monster under the bed or in your closet and a squid won't crawl out of the toilet."

Sora's head tilted as he gave Demyx the weirdest look. The nobody gave an embarrassed chuckle.

"Sorry, I was just reciting what my mom used to tell me when I had a bad dream. It always made me feel better."

Sora huffed with a smirk, "It was pretty funny."

"So, what's your dream about?"

Sora stopped which caused Demyx to once again feel concerned.

"They start out fine. I'm with my friends. Sometimes it's a memory, other times it's purely a dream, but then it always comes and takes them away."

Demyx noticed that Sora's clenched fist had begun to tremble and the teen was looking down. He started to think this was a bad idea.

"W-what takes them away?"

"A dragon. A large black dragon, with yellow eyes and green flames. It's..it's just like Maleficent's dragon form."

"The witch has a dragon form?" This was news to the nobody.

"Yeah,..." Sora nodded, "I've fought her like that before."

"And you won, right?"

Sora nodded.

"Then that's easy. If you beat her like that once then you can beat the nightmare easy. Just take your sword and bash it on the head." Demyx gave his friend a confident grin, but Sora still kept his gaze on the floor.

Demyx lowered his head to try and see his friend's expression. "Sora?"

"First,...she took Riku, next it was..., then it was Donald and Goofy. I'm afraid of who it'll take next."

Demyx placed a hand on his shoulders. "Sora, look at me."

Slowly, the teen brought his gaze up to meet the blue eyes of the older teen.

"You've got to realize that it's not real. Your friends are fine. I bet they're just waiting for you to come back so you can all go and kick that witch's butt. you can't let some stupid dream beat you."

"But, they're not fine. Not all of them," Sora looked away.

"What do you mean?"

"Riku's still her prisoner. I told Cloud before I left, but I don't know what happened after that. I doubt they could get him out of there."

Demyx slapped Sora's shoulder and smiled. "Well, they got you out, right? I'm sure getting him out should be no problem, 'specially if you got that guy on your side."

"Who?" asked Sora.

"That Cloud guy. I've heard things about him, He's no push over. I heard he can scare away an army of heartless just by glaring at them. Sure wish I could command attention like that."

Sora tried to conjure an image of a hundred heartless running for dear life to get away from the blonde fighter, fusion sword resting on his shoulder and an intense glare in his eyes.

Demyx blinked when he saw a smile appear on Sora's face which quickly evolved into laughter. It became contagious and the two held their stomachs as they erupted into hysterics.

Sora had to lean against the wall to support himself when the tile he had his hand resting on flashed with light and a small section of the wall vanished making Sora fall trough. "Gah!"

"Sora!"

Demyx quickly followed as the lights flickered on revealing the teen rubbing the back of his head in pain from where he landed on the floor.

"Ow, who took the wall away?"

Demyx however, walked past the teen and gazed at the device in the center of the room. "What is this?"

It was a platform of some kind, with five circles in the center. Demyx hopped onto the platform and inspected it.

"I wonder what this is,..."

"But, this is your ship, shouldn't you know?" asked Sora as he stood up.

"This room is new to me, it was hidden after all," the nobody replied.

"Good point."

Static crackled over the ship's intercom. "New world's coming up, it doesn't look like there's any heartless on the surface or in the surrounding space," reported Axel.

"I call that good news," Demyx replied. "What do you think Sora?"

Sora however had been side-tracked by a large green button on the machine. Without giving it a second thought he pushed it. A light flashed and Demyx vanished.

"Demyx!" Sora's eyes went wide as he stared at the spot the nobody had been standing in a second before.

"What's goin' on?" asked Axel.

"H-he vanished!" Sora was starting to panic. What if this machine was some kind of weapon? did he just vaporize his friend?

"What do you mean vanished?" asked Axel.

Every detail tumbled out of the teen's mouth and resulting in a jumbled mess. Axel couldn't make out a single word. "Where are you?"

"Third level, second door to the left, secret wall entrance!"

Axel turned off the intercom with a look of utter confusion. "Secret wall entrance?...What?"

He looked at the world that the Flaring Comet was now orbiting and set the controls to stationary auto-pilot while he tried to figure out what mess his two companions had gotten themselves into.

_~*~StL~*~_

Tifa, Vincent, Aladdin and Jack had restocked on potions and other supplies and were getting ready to board the Black Pearl that had been tied up at the end of the market square. Riku had gone to see them off.

"You sure you don't wanna come?" asked Tifa.

Riku nodded, "Yeah, Cid needs help repairing the bike and it may take a while with all the damage."

"You have a point, but your magic will be missed. you really did a number on the heartless back there."

Riku shrugged before looking over at the approaching Jack Sparrow, "We're ready to cast off, Miss Lockhart."

"Think you can handle the Captain on your own?"

Tifa smiled as she walked up the ramp, "I'll manage." She turned and winked at him as the ship began to rise. "We'll be back as soon as we rescue Cloud," she called as the ship took off into the sky.

Riku watched the ship disappear before returning to help Cid. He waited until the man's swearing died down a bit before entering.

_~*~StL~*~_

Axel didn't quite know what to make of the scene in front of him. The new room he never knew existed was one surprise, the device sitting in the middle was another, but what worried him was a very frantic Sora who was shouting into the control panel.

"Demyx! Can you hear me?! I'm sorry!"

"Whoa, kid," Axel tried to calm the brunette down, but the teen was too panicked to comprehend him.

"Snap out of it!" Axel slapped him hard across the face which had the desired effect.

Sora rubbed his face as he looked up at the red-head.

"Now, tell me what happened."

"WewerejusttalkingandthenthewallopenedupandthenIpressedabuttonandhejust-"

"Whoa! Whoa, hold it," Axel clamped his hand over Sora's mouth. "Now, take a big, deep breath and tell me what happened,...slowly."

Axel removed his hand while Sora did as asked. When Axel got the whole story he looked the machine over while Sora just grabbed his hair.

"I killed him, I know I did, He's gone and it's all my fault."

"Relax kiddo, this isn't a weapon," Axel replied without looking up from the device.

The teen lowered his hands and looked at the red-head who had his back to him.

"How do you know?"

Axel pulled out a small booklet and pointed to the title, "Because the manual is right here. It says: _Transporter 3000."_

Sora let out the biggest sigh of relief.

"So, where do you think he was transported to?"

Axel flipped through the book as he answered, "Probably to the world down below. Why don't you jump up there and I'll send you to go get 'im?"

Sora stepped onto the platform. It was only right that he retrieve his friend since he was the whole reason he was down there in the first place.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Nope," replied the red-head very quickly.

"Why not?"

"Because it's a water planet."

Sora suddenly became nervous. "Water?...Uh, what's the name of this world?"

Axel walked over to the controls, "Altlantica."

Sora's eyes grew wide. "No, wait!"

Too late, Axel hit the button and Sora's vision was filled with a bright light.

When he opened them again he found he was underwater. Looking down at his feet Sora knew it was safe to breathe when he saw a blue tail fin in place of toes. Yep. He was a merman again.


	27. Worry, Relief and Confusion

_**Well, this update came easier than I thought it would. I can't believe how far along this story has come. 95+ reviews?! Guys...you're awesome. Seriously, all of you. Just epic. Thank you so much. I-I'm speechless. Your reviews helps fuel the fire that keeps this story going. Speaking of which, I may write a sequel for it as well. The idea is still up in the air, but it's definitely something I'm not going to rule out.  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Seven<strong>

Simba had always had a knack for getting into trouble as a cub. A trait that he had apparently passed down to his daughter. Kiara had grown tired of waiting around Pride Rock for the threat of the heartless to go away. She didn't see what all the fuss was about. It had been a long time since Donald and Goofy had left and Kiara wanted to venture out on her own.

"And if those heart monster things do show up," she said to herself as she prowled through the tall grass, "I'll just pounce them and bring one home to Dad, that'll show him how tough I am."

She looked over her shoulder every so often to make sure she wasn't followed by her guardians. Timon and Pumbaa often stuck to her like glue and were never far away. She never quite understood why her father was so protective of her. When she was satisfied no one was following she pressed on, jumping over rocks that had formed a path across a small stream. She was about to keep going, when she decided to take a drink.

Bending over, she lapped up the cool refreshing liquid, completely ignoring her surroundings. The grass rustled behind her, catching her attention. She turned around quickly and gulped, trying to hide her fear. There were other things in the Pride Lands to be wary of besides the heartless. Water buffalo, snakes, hyenas, just to name a few. A shadow emerged from the grass and towered over her. whatever it was had a large blue body, a strange tail, a gray head and razor-sharp teeth. It lunged at the lion cub. Kiara screamed.

Somewhere nearby, Timon and Pumbaa had been on the trail of the runaway princess. The warthog had been tracking her scent and paw prints and had been close to catching up when they both heard the scream. Timon jumped atop his friend's head while Pumbaa panicked and looked around for signs of danger. That's when he saw it.

"Timon, look! Up there!"

The meerkat followed his friend's gaze and what he saw made his mouth drop open. The dark shadow had an unconscious Kiara in its jaws and was running at high speeds off in the distance.

"C'mon Pumbaa! We gotta tell Simba!"

_~*~StL~*~_

The large doors leading to the front grounds of the Coliseum burst open. Tifa walked through brushing off her hands as she made her way inside. Vincent had stayed with the ship, not trusting Hades. He had never personally met the lord of the dead, but he wagered he was one of the main reasons why people didn't want to die. Jack Sparrow and Aladdin followed well behind Tifa, in case they ended up in the crossfire. In her current mood she seemed capable of anything.

"Now, if I were Hades, where would I be?" she scanned the area. It looked empty at first, until she saw movement from around the corner. She instructed for the others to stay put. They didn't argue and watched the girl make her way around one of the large gladiator statues.

Tifa was careful not to be detected as she tried to get a good look at the person who had his back to her. He seemed to be exorcising, doing squats to be more precise.

"Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, for-gah!"

Quick as a flash, Tifa had grabbed him by the back of his neck and swung him into the wall, face first.

She glared at his dark spiky hair as she held him against the wall, twisting his wrist painfully for good measure. "Where is Hades?"

There was a no-nonsense tone in her voice and the man knew this girl meant business, even if he couldn't see her.

"A simple hello or excuse me would've worked too," he replied.

"Answer my question!"

The man was stubborn one, "I might tell you if you let go. You're breaking my wrist."

Tifa smiled calmly, "That's not breaking it, this is!" She twisted it cruelly and the man let out a painful whimper.

"Okay, okay, ease up! He's in his lair."

"And where is that?"

The man tried to break free of her grip, but it was like a vice! "Just outside the entrance doors, down the steps to the side."

Tifa sensed this man knew more than what he was telling. "Have you seen a guy with Spiky blonde hair?"

She twisted his wrist more and he whimpered again before nodding. Tifa's glare narrowed. "Where is he? Tell me!"

Tifa was on a roll and in her element. The man managed to turn his head slightly enough to look at her. That was when his eyes grew wider and he smiled.

"Tifa?!"

Hearing him say her name caused her to loosen her grip. He turned and smiled at her. It was only then that she recognized him.

"Zack?!" She instantly let go.

He rubbed his wrist and smiled from ear to ear. "It sure has been a while. You came looking for Cloud right?"

Aladdin and Jack chanced to approach now that it seemed Tifa's rage had sub-sided.

"Now, who's this chap?" asked Sparrow.

"Zack Fair, Soldier - First class and junior hero." Zack held out his hand for a handshake, but the pirate captain just looked at it.

"Sorry, mate. No disrespect, but I don't trust to hand-shaking"

Zack just shrugged before smiling at Aladdin and shaking his hand. Looking back over at Tifa, he noticed she seemed zoned out.

"Tifa?" he waved a hand in front of her face. "You okay?"

"It's just, you've been gone for so long, everything thought you were dead. Cloud took it the hardest."

Zack gave her a sympathetic smile, "Yeah, Cloud knows where's I've been, though I didn't get a chance to tell him the whole story before he passed out."

Tifa snapped to attention. "Passed out?!"

Zack headed around the corner and up the steps and motioned with his hand for them to follow. The group passed the main entrance into the stadium where Zack led them off to the side.

"There were no matches scheduled for today, so I thought it'd be nice and quiet in the stables."

Tifa and the others entered, passing Zack who had moved to the side to give them a view of the blonde swordsman. Tifa smiled while Aladdin and Jack had to try very hard not to laugh.

Cloud was sound asleep on a bed of hay. What made it funny was Pegasus; Hercules' winged horse was nibbling at some of the hay which he was just able to reach from his own stall, however he would sometimes mistake the blonde spikes for hay, but Cloud didn't even budge.

"Hades had him fighting for two days straight," Zack informed them from the doorway. "I knew Hades was up to something when he canceled the scheduled matches for the Underdrome with no warning. I only regret not realizing who it was that was fighting sooner."

"What matters is that you're both safe." Tifa walked over to where Cloud was and sat in the hay next to him. She watched over him with a relieved smile.

_~*~StL~*~_

Master Yen Sid was glancing at the map that showed the King's progress. It had been a while since he had sent Donald and Goofy to help him. He was pleased with the progress his former pupil had made, gathering the alliance of several new worlds. A low humming began to fill the air, faint at first, but growing louder until a purple cat appeared on his desk in a sitting position, his purple tail curled around his paws.

"Greetings, your high magicalness," he stated in a calm voice.

"Hello Cheshire, what news do you bring?" The wizard wouldn't be as easy to irritate as the other two were. The cat had to tread carefully when addressing this one.

"It seems the dragon is claiming more victims one by one."

"Yes, I'm aware of Sora's haunting dreams, but I am confident that he can overcome them," the wizard replied.

"I wasn't talking about the key," the cat purred. "He has something much worse to fear then silly dreams."

Again the wizard nodded. "Yes, I'm aware of who hunts him."

"Do you?" asked the cat. "The key has become very popular to those with shadowed hearts. There are three who are hunting him..."

The cat faded and three cups appeared upside down on the table in front of Yen Sid. They then began to shuffle amongst themselves. When they stopped the cup on the left lifted up and revealed a small Cheshire cat who was black instead of purple.

"One is the Mistress of all evil."

The cup closed on the cat and shuffled themselves again, this time the cup on the right flipped over revealing a yellow Cheshire Cat.

"One is the delivery boy."

Again the cup covered the cat and shuffled again. The final time the middle cup opened revealing a silver Cheshire Cat.

"And the last one is the one-winged angel."

The cups vanished and the Cat appeared in his normal form once again. "Should the last one find the key first, there is little hope the dragon can be defeated."

With that the cat vanished, leaving Master Yen Sid more worried than before. He knew from Riku's tale that Sephiroth was after Sora, but he still didn't know why. The only thing he did know was that the boy was in grave danger.

"Cloud,...hurry."

_~*~StL~*~_

"Demyx! Where are you? Demyx!"

Sora had been swimming around for a while trying to find his friend without running into anyone else. Like in Radiant Garden, there were people here that knew him and he wanted to avoid running into them at any cost.

Cupping his hands to his mouth he called out again, "Dem-!" but he stopped when he heard music. With a nervous gulp the teen swam over towards the melody.

He saw Demyx sitting on a rock, playing his sitar, but he was simply strumming the instrument, he wasn't using it as a weapon and Sora didn't see any heartless or water clones around.

He was about to approach when he heard a voice sing along to the nobody's music. It was a gentle, yet strong voice, one that Sora knew well. He swam into a better spot to get a better view, behind a rock that held a cluster of colorful underwater flowers.

Floating a few feet from the nobody was a red-headed mermaid with a green tail fin; Ariel.

Sora knew it. He couldn't help but think back to the last time he had been to this world, singing along with the little mermaid in the musical. He wasn't that great, but it was still fun.

_"The sun is warm, shining through the waves,_

_In the great sea reef all the fish dance and play._

_In deepest trench or darkest cave,_

_The light of hope is strong, burning bright as day,."_

Demyx smiled as he played in sync with her voice.

Sora couldn't help but be moved by the music. It relaxed him and reminded him that he was tired. He leaned his arms against the rock and just like that the peace was shattered.

Sensing a nearby presence, the flowers quickly retracted, startling the half-asleep teen who let out a yelp. The music stopped as both nobody and mermaid looked up to see Sora jump out from the behind the rock. Ariel smiled and started to swim towards him, but Demyx was faster.

Sora saw Demyx coming and he paled when the nobody had a determined frown on his face. Sora swam the other way.

"I'm sorry Dem! I didn't mean to- GAH!"

Demyx tackled him, but there was no pain. The brown-finned nobody was swinging the kid around in circles while laughing.

"Sorry?! For this?! Sora, why didn't you tell me this world existed? I would have quit the Organization and come here ages ago!"

Ariel giggled as she watched the two until Demyx finally let go. Sora was a bit dizzy, but when he saw Ariel he became nervous.

_"Is she part of the resistance too," _he couldn't help but wonder.

Demyx swam next to Ariel. "Get this, I found someone who loves my instrument almost as much as I do!"

"I've just never seen such a wonderous creation before. It sounds so beautiful, you must be a skilled musician to play it so perfectly," she complimented.

Demyx puffed out his chest with pride.

"The last thing he needs is an ego boost," replied Sora with a smirk.

At this, Demyx deflated, "Meanie."

Ariel turned to Sora, "How is everything going? My father hasn't been home in a while."

Sora raised an eye brow, "What do you mean?"

"The resistance. Daddy went to help, but he hasn't been back in several days."

"King Triton is helping?!" Sora was a bit surprised that it was the ruler of the oceans that was helping and not her. Sora thought Triton hated being on the surface.

"That's news to me, I haven't been with the resistance."

"But, I thought Daddy said they needed a key bearer to defeat that evil witch? If you're not helping them than who is?"

Sora didn't want to make her worry, but what could he say? _Sorry, but I'm too afraid to sleep at night let alone lead an army to beat the crap out of an old hag? _That wasn't going to cut it.

"I...I don't have a Keyblade anymore," it was really all he could say and he wasn't proud of it.

"But," Ariel started, "How can you be traveling between worlds without one? I thought it unlocked the gates?"

The red-headed princess had sure learned a lot since the last visit.

"He's been traveling with us, me an' a pal of mine," chimed in Demyx as he flung an arm around Sora's shoulder. He then looked around.

"Where is Axel anyway?"

"He said he didn't like water," replied Sora.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot he was a pyro. Oh well, his loss."

"But, I don't understand, Sora," Ariel began, "If you're not helping my father then what are you doing? My sisters and I have kept the barrier up, but it won't keep the heartless away forever. Daddy said there were more and more heartless swarming through other worlds every day."

"I.., um..." Could Sora tell her the truth? He hated lying to her or to anyone, but he had to face his friends sooner or later. Maybe it would be best to start slowly?

"He's on a special mission with us," Demyx chimed in. "Yeah, me and my pal Axel are training him to be stronger."

Ariel smiled at this. "Well, that makes me feel better. Hopefully when the resistance is ready to move against her you'll be ready to help them."

"I hope so," Sora replied quietly. In all honesty, he was curious to know what was going on with the resistance. He left before really seeing how big the army for light really was.

He knew so far that Donald, Goofy, Cloud, Tifa, Jack Sparrow, Scrooge, Yen Sid, Mickey and now King Triton was in the resistance, but could there be more? And how many?

_"Maybe I shouldn't have run away..."_

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><p><strong><em>I promise you guys, these misspellings aren't done on purpose. Spellcheck is determined to give me a hard time, even when I spell something right, it constantly tells me it's wrong. <em>**


	28. Art of Thrones

_**Well this update took much longer than it should have. I was on a roll and then writer's block had to sneak up on me. This chapter is all about getting our heroes back on track. While also finding out a bit more about that riddle-loving cat. This should be interesting. :)**_

_**Enjoy.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty Eight<strong>

Jack had gone back to check on his ship - a habit he had picked up over the years to make sure no one else made off with his precious Pearl. It had happened to him one-too many times in the past. Thankfully, everything was still ship-shape and between him and Vincent, the two got it anchored into a better area, far away from the claws of Hades or any heartless.

When they returned they saw everything just as they had left it. Tifa, Zack and Aladdin were still sitting outside of the large coliseum gates just shooting the breeze. Sparrow was the first to point out the obvious. "So, any chance of waking the sword-swinging chap so we can get back to doin' what we do best?"

"And what would that be?" asked Zack.

"Fighting heartless and protecting the worlds from Maleficent, of course," Aladdin replied.

"And let's not forget our sleeping friend's mission," added Jack.

Zack shook his head, "Boy, you guys sure keep him on his toes, no wonder he's so out of it. Maybe what Hades did really wasn't all that brutal after all."

"Times are tough right now," Tifa informed him, "The resistance is stretched thin and it's not easy finding more members since we don't have a key bearer."

"But, doesn't Riku have a keyblade?" asked Aladdin.

"He does," Tifa replied, "But Master Yen Sid believes that this is Sora's test. Something he has to deal with and rise to meet the challenge. Personally, I think he's trying to get his confidence back."

"Aye, the lad sure seemed a bit down on 'is luck when he woke up, poor kid." Aladdin knew it had to be bad if even Jack Sparrow felt honestly sorry for him.

Zack just scratched his head, "Boy I'm totally out of the loop. I thought Ven, Aqua and Terra were the only ones who had keyblades,"

The other four gave him strange looks making him feel uncomfortable. "What?"

"You know of more key bearers?" asked Aladdin.

"Well, yeah, but it was years ago, in fact, it was right before I left the coliseum the first time and joined the SOLDIER program and that's where I met Cloud. Boy was he one clumsy cadet," he chuckled, but got serious again when they were still giving him strange looks. "I don't know what happened to those three after they left, but that was the only time I ever saw them. I kinda miss them, they were pretty good guys, especially Ven. Now that I think about it, he looked a little bit like Cloud, maybe that's why me and him hit if off so well,..."

The group had stopped listening after that as Zack kept rambling on and between Tifa, Aladdin and Jack they knew it was something to bring to the master's attention when they got back.

_~*~StL~*~_

He was relaxed, lost in a dreamless sleep. It was nice for a change. No nightmares, no haunting memories, nothing. Maybe he was just too exhausted to dream. He didn't even remember falling asleep. One moment he was walking through the large double doors shaking his head at a overly excited Zack Fair who had just won his freedom and the next darkness. It was very comforting and he could have slept like this for days. Sadly, he seemed eternally cursed with bad luck.

Something was brushing against his nose. He tried swatting at it a few times and even turned over onto his side, but it was unrelenting and felt like a feather duster. Slowly Cloud opened his eyes only to glare at the face staring back at him with drowsy eyes. The swordsman wasn't sure if he was still dreaming. After all, cats normally weren't purple and pink.

"Ohh good, you've finally rejoined the living. I was starting to worry you had checked out of the game. that would have been a terrible piece to lose," it purred.

Cloud slowly sat up and blinked at the cat. "A purple cat that talks? Am I still dreaming?"

The cat shrugged, "Who can say? Dreams are funny like that. Someone's reality could be another person's dream and someone's dream could be another person's nightmare. The real question you should be asking is, which to chase? The dream, the reality or the nightmare?"

"You're not making any sense," the swordsman replied with a yawn.

The cat just smiled, "Perhaps not, but at least Sora is trying."

That woke the swordsman up, "You know where he is?"

The cat giggled at the swordsman's concern. "A little wet behind the ears perhaps, but he's making some progress."

Cloud felt a little better hearing that. He didn't admit it to anyone, but seeing the kid so broken up back at the master's house bothered him as equally as it had the others.

"Speaking of progress," the cat added, "Your feathered nightmare is making progress as well. Better make sure that bike of yours can reach top speed otherwise you may lose your key." With that the cat vanished.

As Zack was telling was telling the group of the time he had pulled a hilarious stunt by trapping Genesis' favorite copy of Loveless in a giant bowl of jello Cloud stormed out of the double doors.

He looked around, trying to find his friend and a way off this world when, "Cloud!" He turned to see Tifa running towards him. He was a little surprised to see her, but still glad.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"They came to save ya when they found out Hades took you from another world," Zack replied.

Tifa nodded in reply and Cloud looked right behind her to see Vincent. "Thanks for the rescue, but I have to get back to Fenrir and continue with my mission."

"What mission?" asked Zack.

"We can explain on the way," Tifa replied as she followed Vincent and Jack as they headed towards the Black Pearl. It didn't take very long to board the ship and the pirate vessel was soon sailing away from the Coliseum. Zack felt a bit strange leaving that world behind after all this time. Cloud just hoped he'd never have to see it again.

A little while later, down below deck in the captain's large dining room Zack was in full rant.

"That's low man! I knew Sephiroth had sunk pretty low, but _THAT _has to be a new record for bad guys. I mean, I get why he's got a bone to pick with Cloud, after the time he beat him an' all, but to go after a little kid? That's just...WRONG!"

Tifa sighed, "The worst part is, we still don't know why he's targeting Sora. So far, he's only gone after Cloud all this time, so why now?"

"I think I may know." All eyes turned to Cloud.

"The last time we fought, I went to meet him at the edge of the Great Maw, but when I got there, he was in the middle of fighting Sora." The swordsman slowly shook his head, "The kid came to me in the square and told me Sephiroth wanted to settle things, I can only assume he went back to relay my message, but I never expected him to fight Sephiroth. What I don't know is if he was attacked, or if Sora challenged him."

"Well, we all know how Sora can get, especially when it concerns his friends," added Aladdin.

"True," Tifa said, "if Sephirtoh said anything that seemed like a threat, Sora would get defensive and probably threatened him somehow, Sephiroth didn't like that and attacked."

"That kid is either really tough or just plain crazy, sounds like a fun person to hang around with!" Zack commented with a smile.

Cloud huffed, "You two would probably hit it off no problem."

At this Zack beamed, "Aw yeah! Now I really can't wait to meet 'im!"

_. . ._

The Cheshire Cat appeared in a room that was very plain. It was a circular room with one throne placed right in the center. sitting in the throne was a boy with blonde hair spiked to the side as if blown that way by a strong gust of wind. There was a girl sitting on the floor in front of the boy drawing something into her sketchbook.

"Must you be so cruel with your clues? I think you got carried away with your warning to the swordsman," she scolded him.

"Perhaps, but it got him moving, didn't it? You yourself said time is not on our side."

The girl set down her pencil as she glanced over at him, "Tell me, which side are you on?"

"What ever do you mean?" asked the cat.

"You seem to be playing both sides - giving clues to the witch."

"Ah, and which witch are you referring to? The evil fairy or yourself?" the cat purred.

"Sometimes, I think you have too much fun with word play," she replied.

The cat just laughed, "Well it certainly wouldn't be any fun if I didn't play with my words, now would it? It'd be too easy then, besides the important pieces seem to understand well enough, just look at our delivery boy, it didn't take him long at all to figure out he needed to start moving."

It was then that the Cheshire Cat became curious as he floated over to see what she was drawing. "What are you working on, my dear?"

But before he could really look at it she had hugged the sketch pad to her, "Don't you have someone else to pester with your cryptic messages?"

The cat shook his head in defeat as he faded, "You nobodies are no fun at all."

The girl smiled after he left as she looked back at what she had been drawing and then back up at the sleeping boy, "We know that's not true, don't we, Ventus? Or,...should I say, Roxas?"

She looked down at the picture she had been working on of Ventus and a friend he had met in the Coliseum, "Don't worry Zack, you'll see your friend again. Just be patient for a little longer."

_~*~StL~*~_

"Achoo!"

Cloud looked over at his friend as Zack rubbed his nose. "Homesick already?"

Zack gave him a look, "Funny."

Cloud still couldn't believe that after all this time he finally had his best friend back. What was even better was that it felt like nothing had changed. Zack was still a little kid at heart and a person who would give his life all over again to protect those around him - one of the things he had always admired about the First Class.

Zack noticed his friend's odd behavior. "You okay?"

"For once, yeah."

And cue the laughter, "D'aww, did you really miss me that much? Haha! Well you certainly learned a few new tricks and that sword is pretty awesome. How many different swords does it turn into?"

"There's seven blades total," Cloud replied.

Hidden behind the door Tifa watched the two with Aladdin also listening in, "Wow, Cloud's a lot different now than he was before, you don't think Hades did something to him, do you?"

But Tifa only smiled and shook her head, "No, it's all Zack's doing. Before Zack disappeared, Cloud was a lot more open and cheerful. I know he doesn't like it when I compare him to Sora, but he acted very similar."

"What happened?" asked Aladdin.

"I don't know, something bad happened and Cloud was never the same. We never saw Zack again until now." Tifa turned away from the door and motioned for Aladdin to follow. "Come on, we'll let them have first watch while we get some rest." Aladdin nodded and followed behind.

Zack slowly nodded as he glanced at the door from the corner of his eye. "I think our eavesdroppers have finally left." He leaned over the rail and looked out at the emptiness of space. "So, how dangerous is this witch?"

"She once kidnapped the seven princesses of light in order to unlock a door to unleash a world of darkness. I don't know the full details, Leon and Aerith would know more. I just know that Maleficent nearly succeeded."

"Dang," Zack shook his head, "How'd she get beat that time?"

"Sora," Cloud simply answered, "he used his keyblade to seal the door. There was someone else he had to fight, but the hearts of each world that was lost was released and the door to Kingdom Hearts was once again sealed. After that all of the worlds became separated again. I ended up back in Hollow Bastion."

"Whoa, so wait, if this kid is so strong that he can free all of the worlds then how come he's having trouble now? How can she have gotten so strong in such a short time?"

"No one knows," Cloud replied, "We rescued the kid, but the damage had already been done. Sora doesn't have any fight left in him."

"That's awful, and you don't know where he is now?" asked Zack.

"No, my mission is to find him and help him fight whatever demons that are haunting him."

"Man, sounds though, but from what the others have told me, you had your share of fighting demons."

"That's changed," And it had. Cloud had been getting better over the years, though to the outside observer it was hard to see, but to those closest to him, the change was obvious. Now a heavy weight had bene lifted and he no longer felt the guilt of losing his best friend. His heart felt lighter then it had in a very long time.

_~*~StL~*~_

He fell, crashing hard onto the balcony. He had been circling a dark and gloomy castle, hoping to catch sight of his prey when he felt a surge of pain and his strength faltered. Getting back to his feet, The one-winged angel tested his wing by stretching it out and giving it a few test flaps to make sure it wasn't broken.

That was strange, what had caused him to lose his strength like that? He wasn't too late, was he? No, there was still a darkness there, but it seemed dimmer somehow. He had to find his target and fast.

Rising to the sky once again he flew out over the castle once more. One last fly over confirmed it. His prey wasn't here. Another dead end, but he still had a few other worlds to search. After all, there were only so many places someone could hide a light that bright. With that in mind he took off into the night, leaving Beast's Castle far behind.

Belle had come out of her room and stood on the same balcony that the man had landed on. She had seen everything. The man's crash-landing having startled her, but she had kept calm and didn't panic. This was something Beast and the other Resistance members had to know.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Something's unfolding in Castle Oblivion, but what exactly it is is a total mystery. Hmm, seems something's up with a certain silver-haired villain. Perhaps he should give up his quest, but we know he's too stubborn for that. Maybe our heroes can use this to their advantage? We'll just have to wait and see. <strong>_


	29. Supportive Friends and Storytime

_My gosh, this story had such a horrible case of writer's block it wasn't funny. August was the last update, AUGUST! That's unacceptable. This story is one of my most well developed, most focused stories in my collection and writer's block had to hit me so hard. I'm sorry. This chapter is also horribly short, but the next chapter starts seeing some more action and more interesting stuff. Not to mention a confrontation that Sora is not ready for yet. _

_Enjoy!_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Twenty-Nine<strong>_

Sora kept quiet and just listened as Demyx told Ariel of their adventures through the worlds. The nobody was going into great detail of how they fought off against the heartless and how they out-witted Pete back in Twilight Town. They passed through the palace gates and Sora felt a strange force as he passed through the archway that marked the entrance to the kingdom.

"What was that?" he asked.

"That's the barrier that Daddy put up. My sisters and I keep it going with our light while he's not here. That's why I stayed behind instead of going with him. He needs all of us in order for it to work," she replied.

"Whoa, that's some serious responsibility," commented Demyx.

"It is," she admitted, "but at least it's keeping us safe. Pete tried to get in a while ago, but he wasn't able to break through and I gave him a little going away present."

"What kind of present?" asked Sora.

"Well, it's not every day that the local sharks see a guppy that big," she giggled playfully.

The other two laughed at the idea of the villain trying to out-swim a hungry pack of sharks. Sora looked around the area, it felt good to see this place again. He had such good memories of this place. Singing in the musical was definitely one of the greatest parts of his second journey. There weren't any heartless and there were also no nobodies to deal with. This time however was an exception. He looked over at Demyx who looked more like a kid in a candy store. Everything fascinated him and he was filled with endless questions which Ariel was only too happy to answer.

"So, you have your own concert hall and everything?"

"Uh-huh, Sebastian holds concerts every other month," Ariel replied with a smile as she led them towards the royal chambers.

Demyx' eyes lit up with excitement, "Is anyone allowed to perform?"

Ariel nodded as she pushed the large seashell door open, "Sure, I'll let him know you'd like to join."

Sora could only shake his head, "It's not just singing and playing your instrument Dem, you gotta do flips and perform with the song. There's a lot of work that goes into playing for a concert here."

"Oh really?" asked Demyx.

"Yes, really!" came a deep voice with an odd accent.

"Who said that?"

The two looked around before Sora looked down and saw the little red crab staring up at them. Demyx picked Sebastian by his shell and poked him, "This is the guy who runs the show?"

Sora nodded, "Demyx, meet Sebastian. Sebastian, this is my friend Demyx."

The crab glared at the merman who was holding him up, "And what was wrong with your other friends? Donald may have been hard to understand and messed up his lines from time to time, but at least they had manners."

"Oh, sorry." Demyx set him back down. Ariel swam back up to them, "Aww, don't be like that Sebastian."

"And as for you, young lady," Sebastian commented by swimming up to her face, "Where have you been? You know your father told you to stay within the palace walls to keep the barrier up. It's not fair to make your sisters do all the work while you go in and out of the city. I hope you didn't go on another one of your little treasure hunts."

"No, I saw a strange light appear in the grotto and went to check it out. That's where I found Demyx and Sora," she replied, looking over at the mermen.

Ariel led the two to meet her sisters with Sebastian swimming behind to keep an eye on her. He knew the king would be furious if his daughter had gone beyond the boundaries of the barrier and put herself in danger. Something neither he nor the kingdom could afford. They pelted her with lectures and worries before one of them noticed the two boys sitting off to the side.

"Who is that?" asked Arista.

Ariel smiled as she waved her hand in their direction. "These are my friends, Demyx and Sora."

Demyx waved while Sora nodded his head.

"SORA!?" The girl's shouted in surprise and Demyx was forced out of the way as the mermaids swarmed around blue-finned teen. Flounder swam over to the nobody who had been shoved to the side while the girls fussed over Sora. "You okay?"

"As soon as the ocean stops spinning. I didn't know Sora was so famous."

"Yeah, Ariel kinda exaggerated a little when she told them what happened when they fought Ursula." The little fish and Demyx just stood and watched as the princesses crowded around the young teen. If they didn't have the ability to breathe underwater Demyx would have convinced the boy was drowning under the group.

"Alright, give him some room," came the voice of the oldest sister. The others giggled with embarrassment before backing up.

"Do you really travel to other worlds?" asked one.

"What are the boys like out there? Do they do the same things?"

"What kind of wonders are out there?"

Sora chuckled sheepishly at the questions. "I'm not really sure, guys are just guys. As for wonders, I've seen some pretty amazing things on my adventures. An enchanted cave filled with treasure, several different castles with their own stories and history,"

The girls became even more excited and Sora was bombarded with even more questions before he could finish answering the first batch. Flounder whispered something into Demyx's ear and he smirked.

Sora was trying to find a way to get a break while remaining polite, but he couldn't find an opening. That's when they heard a melody playing in the background. The princesses turned and saw Demyx sitting down with his sitar in his hands. He was playing a nice tune and called a few of his water clones to swirl around. It was hard to see them, but they could just make out the outlines as they swayed.

"That's amazing," commented Adela as they watched.

Sora took his chance to back away from the group and out of the room where he gave the biggest sigh of relief. Flounder swam up to him, "Feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks for the rescue," he replied. Flounder just smiled before motioning with his fin for Sora to follow him.

He brought Sora to Ariel's secret treasure room, where she was busy finding a good place for the latest addition to her collection. "What do you think?" she asked him.

Sora looked up at the golden harp. "It's nice, where'd you find that?"

"Under a crevice just beyond the reef, just don't tell Sebastian. I didn't tell him the whole truth about why I was out there."

"Why were you out there?" he asked, knowing she trusted him to keep her secrets.

"I was bored. I'm glad Daddy realizes that humans aren't bad and is willing to help them, but I wish it was me that was traveling around, fighting evil. Like you."

Sora tried to picture that for a minute. It would be great to have her fighting alongside them, but he couldn't forget the true evil behind all of the heartless. Maleficent was a being of pure darkness, and he had seen what darkness could do to the brightest light. He didn't want that to happen to Ariel.

"Believe me, you're better off here, as far away from danger as possible."

"You're starting to sound like my father," Ariel replied.

"An adventure sounds exciting and fun and it is, but right now there's a threat out there that's so powerful that not even the strongest hero can beat it alone."

Ariel could hear the pain in his voice as he spoke and understood. "Something bad happened, didn't it? To your friends?"

Sora nodded. "Goofy, Donald and others are with the resistance and they wanted me to help, but after what happened. I'm just not strong enough to be of any help and they're all looking to me to beat it like before, but I just can't."

Ariel swam up to him and pulled him into a hug. "It's okay to be scared Sora, but you should know that no one expects you to fight alone. It's your friendship that gives you strength and even when you feel alone, you're really not."

"What do you mean?" asked Sora.

She pulled away and smiled. "You have Demyx with you now, and that other friend who doesn't like water? And no matter where you are, every one of your friends is wishing you well. Even me. Even when friends are apart the bonds they share stay with them always."

Sora thought about it and realized she was right. "Thanks Ariel."

She only smiled before turning back towards the doorway. "Why don't we go see if your friend needs rescuing. My sisters can get a bit carried away."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." He replied sarcastically as he followed her out.

When they got there they heard Demyx still strumming along to his sitar, but instead of humming a tune he was telling a story. "Oh, there were many heartless. The great battle of Hollow Bastion held the most heartless that I've ever seen. There were thousands of them and for each one you struck down, three more would take its place. Sora alone defeated more than a thousand of them single-handed!"

"That's impossible," challenged Aquata.

"No one could fight off that many heartless on their own," agreed Andrina.

"It's true," Demyx replied, "but Sora wasn't the only one fighting. There were others there. Powerful warriors, littler helpers, and even me."

"How many heartless did you defeat?" asked Attina.

"He was too busy fighting me to worry about the heartless," Sora announced as he entered the room. The mermaids turned towards him. "What do you mean?" They looked back at the nobody which scratched the back of his head.

"Well, back then me 'n Sora were kinda on opposite sides."

"You were enemies?" asked Ariel.

"Yeah, but Sora beat me in the end and the next time he saw me we made up and became friends. Ain't that right, buddy?"

Sora merely shrugged, "I guess so. I mean, we're friends now but back then he was kind of annoying."

"Well that hurts," Demyx replied flatly.

Sora looked back to Ariel who nodded a silent response. "Demyx, it's time for us to head out."

"Aww, already?" asked the mermaids.

"Yeah, the worlds are in trouble and its up to us to help protect them," Sora replied. "Since everything seems safe and under control here, we should check on the other places that still need help."

"Well, you're always welcome here, Sora. You too Demyx," replied Attina.

"Thanks, I'll defenitly look forward to coming back to this place," Demyx said with a smile.

Sora waved to them and followed Ariel who led them out of the palace and just past the barrier. "Daddy had to step outside the barrier before he left, so I think you two have to do the same."

"It's fine, you just make sure you get back inside the barrier once we've gone and don't linger," Demyx told her, trying to sound like a protective older brother.

"I promise," she replied.

Sora signaled for Axel to fire up the transporter and within a few moments Sora and Demyx were surrounded by a white light before vanishing. Ariel smiled and waved as they vanished and went to turn back and head for home when something grabbed her from behind. "Hehe, What's d'a matter princess? No sharks 'round when you need 'em? Hah! Looks like Good 'ol Pete's finally found some good luck."

When Sora and Demyx arrived back onto the transport platform they were alone in the room. Suddenly the ship lurched to the side, sending the two tumbling into a corner.

"Ow! What the heck?" cried Demyx, trying to recover after slamming his back against the wall. Sora seemed just as dazed, and got up from crashing into Demyx and laying across his lap. "What happened?"

"I dunno, but it can't be good," the blonde nobody got up and staggered towards the doorway with Sora following behind. It was hard enough trying to get used to using their legs again without the ship rocking back and forth.

When Sora and Demyx made it into the control room they were surprised by what they saw. Axel was doing his best to stay within the world's orbit in order to stay within range of the transporter beam, but he was having a rough time dodging enemy fire from the dozens of heartless ships that surrounded them.

"Axel, what's going on?!" Demyx cried out as he took the copilot's seat and Sora instinctively headed for the weapons platform. "About time you got back! Let's get outta here," the red-headed nobody replied.

"Wait, what about the world? What about Ariel?" asked Sora. There were too many heartless around her world for his liking.

"They have the barrier to protect them, they'll be fine!" Demyx replied as Axel hit the engines and pulled a sharp U-turn.

Sora fired the weapons, taking out as many heartless ships as he could before the Flaring Comet made its getaway.


	30. Big Brothers

_Phew, I struggled with this chapter. I don't know what it is about this update, but I'm finally satisfied with it after three re-writes. Oyi. -.-; Other updates are slow coming. Strife: SG-1 especially. The holidays are fully to blame for that. I've been so busy that by the time I get to sit down and write I end up falling asleep or I just can't concentrate. Only reason this one is ready is because it was already mostly written - just needed to be tweaked a bit.  
><em>

_Soo, anyways, I shouldn't keep you guys waiting any longer. Enjoy! ^^_

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><p><strong><em>Chapter Thirty<em>**

Aerith was returning from the town square with a renewed supply of potions and other remedies that any of her friends may need along with something for the two mechanics that had been working so hard lately. Stepping into Merlin's house she saw that they were still hard at work. Riku's face was black and dirty from the grease and oil as he helped Cid repair Fenrir.

"I brought you two something cold to drink," she said loud enough for them to hear.

"Perfect, thanks Aerith," replied Riku as she handed him a can.

Cid however was still in a grumpy mood, but he accepted the drink none the less. "Pink lemonade, really?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I would have made tea, but you looked like you could use something cold," Aerith replied.

Cid could have used something cold alright, but something with a little more kick than lemonade. "It's fine, thanks," he replied with a small grumble before setting it down and getting back to work. That's when the door opened.

Riku was the first to see Cloud step inside. "They did it!" he called out. Aerith turned around and Cid rolled back out from under the bike. "Well, look who finally had the guts to face me after wreckin' this thing. Yer lucky I'm right in the middle of fixin' it, but mark my words, if ya mess this up again you can fix it yourself!"

Cloud merely shrugged, "Whatever." He then looked over at the silver-haired teen, "You're looking stronger."

Riku blinked a nodded, a little surprised that he was noticed. "Uh, y-yeah. I got tired of hanging around Yen Sid's place."

"And he's been such a big help to us here," Aerith chimed in.

"Good," Cloud replied before smiling at her. This caught both Aerith and Riku's attention. It had been so long since Aerith had seen him openly smile. "Cloud?" she asked, "What's going on? You haven't found Sora, have you?"

The warrior shook his head, "Not yet, but look who I did find."

He stepped aside to let the man enter and when Aerith saw him her hands shot up to her mouth. "My gosh, it can't be! Is that really you, Zack?"

Zack smiled and nodded, pure joy reflecting in his eyes as he looked at her. "It really is."

Aerith didn't waste any time rushing into his arms as tears of joy fell from her eyes. She had tried so hard to be strong for everyone else, knowing how much they were suffering with Zack's loss, while all along she had suffered in silence. She wanted to be there for Cloud, for Tifa, for everyone while never letting on how torn up she really was. But now here he was, back in her life and alive no less! Zack hugged her back. He had missed everyone, but Aerith was different. He never wanted to let her go ever again.

It was Cid who broke up the moment, "_Great_, look's like we got another spiky-haired sword-swinger to deal with. As if Cloud and Sora weren't bad enough."

"And what about me?" asked Riku. "I have a keyblade too."

"You I can work with," Cid replied, "It's these guys who are always breaking things."

"Name one thing I've broken," Cloud argued, sounding offended.

Cid jerked his thumb back towards the bike.

"That was the heartless, I had nothing to do with it," the blonde replied with a slight pout. As if he'd wreck his own bike on purpose.

Aerith giggled, Riku blinked and Cid just rolled his eyes. "_Sure_ you didn't."

Yuffie entered the room then, only to bump into Zack from behind. "Hey, watch it!" she shouted as she stumbled back.

"Sorry," he replied as she brushed herself off and looked around. "Hey, you're back!" she said to Cloud before looking back out the door. "Told ya they'd find him Squall. You owe me fifty munny!"

The brunette approached and glared at Yuffie, "How many times do I have to say it? Call me _Leon_." Yuffie rolled her eyes before remembering she had been in a hurry. "Oh, Cloud. there was something important I wanted to tell you, but...now I've forgotten!"

Cloud ignored her and turned his gaze over towards Cid. "How much longer until Fenrir is fixed?"

"It'll be a while," he replied. "I gotta fix the space road generator since that got really messed up. Most of the other systems are repaired though - Just gotta adjust a few things here and tune few things there."

Hearing that the blonde warrior decided to head back out into the square. Leon turned towards Cid, "So I take it you haven't had a chance to scan the computer?"

"Is it really that serious?" asked Aerith. Leon nodded, "We still haven't found the source of what caused that program to go missing. Tron has scanned all over Ansem's computer and found nothing."

"Well, whoever it was knows how to cover their tracks," Cid replied. "I checked this computer while Riku was taking over the repairs and I didn't find a thing."

"Have you tried turning it off and restarting it?" asked Zack.

The others all gave him a deadpan look. It was Leon who answered him. "Ansem's computer runs the town's security system. If we were to shut that down heartless could come and go as they please, unchecked and unchallenged."

"So?" Zack asked. "It's not like the town's completely defenseless. There are people who can fight."

"Well, he does have a point there," Riku voiced which earned a smirk from the SOLDIER.

"See? We've got a keyblade wielder, two of the strongest swordsmen in the galaxy,- and uh, whatever the rest of these guys do." he finished motioning to Yuffie and Cid.

"Hey, I'm a ninja princess thank you! No one can throw a chakram better than me." She argued. Cid stood up and brushed himself off, "I wouldn't go insultin' us until ya see what we can do. Not only am I the best pilot around, but no one can master a lance or a javelin like I can."

Zack held up his hands, "Alright, my bad." Yuffie poked him in the chest, "And what do you do that's so impressive, mister?"

"I'm one of the two strongest swordsmen. I thought I already mentioned me 'n Cloud."

Cid scratched his head, "I thought you were talkin' about Leon." Zack looked over at the brunette who had remained silent for most of the argument. "Swordsman, huh? Where's your blade?"

"I don't unsheathe it to show off, I only wield it when facing an enemy." Zack shook his head, "N'ah man, that's no fun." He pulled out his own Buster Sword and held it in one hand, "Now this is a real hero's weapon."

Riku left the group to their argument, Grabbing a clean rag he wiped off his face and headed outside towards the square. He stopped just past the ice cream and moogle shops and leaned against the wall over-looking the square. He saw where Cloud had went. He was talking with Tifa near one of the item shops. They were too far away for Riku to hear what they were saying, and he didn't want to pry, but looking down at them reminded him of the same reason why he had left the others back at Merlin's.

It reminded him too much of his friend. This is where Sora should be. With this crowd. It wouldn't take them long to bring him back to his old self. Riku may not have known what kind of guy Zack really was, but he seemed like the carefree type that knew the best ways to cheer someone up. Between him and Aerith Riku knew it wouldn't take long to get his friend to smile. But seeing Cloud and Tifa he knew the reason why Sora would probably never be the same again. Kairi was gone. Struck down by Sora's own keyblade and finished off by that witch's attack.

"Wait."

Riku said out loud before realization finally dawned on him.

If Sora dealt a lethal blow to Kairi then why did Maleficent have to attack her as well? Riku's mouth dropped open as realization hit him like a freight train.

"He didn't do it!" He shouted, his eyes were shining with hope as Riku dashed back towards Merlin's house.

"Riku, wait!" Tifa called as his outburst had drawn her attention. She looked over at Cloud who shrugged.

"Come on," she said as she hurried to catch up to the teen. Cloud said nothing, but followed at his own pace.

_~*~StL~*~_

The Flaring Comet dropped out of warp drive as it came upon a new world. Demyx twisted his face in disgust.

"We left Atlantica for this dump?"

"I don't see it surrounded by heartless, do you?" retorted Axel.

"This is Beast's Castle," Sora told them. "I've been here before. Tough heartless live here too. Morning Stars, Large Bodies, Lance Soldiers, Gargoyles, even a few Dragoons called this place home."

Demyx smirked as he turned his chair to face the kid. "Yeah, but Dragoons are nobodies. They'd be on our side, right Axel?"

"I wouldn't count on it," the red-head replied. "Remember when I turned against the Organization? They wouldn't listen to me then." Demyx shrugged, "Yeah, well it's not like Xemnas is around to give them any orders, so they'd follow whoever's stronger in the area, right? And by the information we've gathered I'd say that's us."

Axel rolled his eyes, "Whatever, let's just get down there. I could use a rest."

It was then that Sora realized just how tired the fire-wielding nobody looked. While he and Demyx had spent time under the sea, Axel must have been at the controls waiting for them to return the entire time.

The ship landed among the trees. Axel stood up and stretched. "Whelp, I'm gonna take a nap. Demyx you're on watch."

"What? Why me?"

"Because I said so."

With that Axel turned and headed for one of the small rooms that had been converted into sleeping quarters. Demyx pouted while Sora looked out at the castle.

_"I wonder how Beast is doing?"_ he wondered.

Demyx came up from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, why don't you get some rest? That walk we took to wake you up was a long time ago and I think it's safe to say we're in the clear for now."

Sora didn't want to sleep, but he was so tired. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten any decent rest. "Alright," he nodded and headed off in the direction Axel took. When he got to the sleeping quarters he didn't even have enough energy to close the door behind him as he plopped onto the bed. He was out before his head hit the pillow. It didn't take very long for him to slip into a dream.

It was confusing. Things and people were continuously moving around him as if he were lost in a crowd of constant motion. He saw nothing but a blur of past events of what had taken place from the moment he was rescued and even before then when he was captured. Fights he had in the Struggle tournament, battle with villains, running from friends and reliving the destruction of the Cornerstone of Light. The roar of an engine so close to him he could feel its powerful rumble, a flash of black feathers and the shimmer of flashing steel. All the while people were calling his name. He knew all of them. Some were friends, others were enemies.

_"Sora...can you hear them?"_

"Whose there?"

_"They need you,"_

"Who are you?"

_"Don't be afraid of them."_

"Kairi?"

_"They want to help you. Please let them in."_

"I'm sorry Kairi. I'm so sorry..."

"Sora? Sora, wake up."

Sora opened his eyes to see Axel gently shaking his shoulder. The teen looked up from where he was, half in his bed and half on the floor. His eyes were red and sore from the tears. He looked up at the flame-haired nobody. "Axel?"

"I figured you needed someone to rescue you from another nightmare," he replied. "You were crying and you kept apologizing to Kairi."

Sora sat up and adjusted himself to where he had his back leaning against the bed. "I could apologize all I want, but it'll never bring her back." Axel blinked at the kid, "What do you mean? She's not gone, is she?"

Sora's bangs covered his eyes as he replied. "I attacked her, Axel. I struck her with my Keyblade and she's gone. Maleficent used her as a shield. I was so STUPID!" He punched the floor with his fist. "I should have seen that coming!" He buried his head into his arms and cried.

Axel wanted to make the kid feel better, but there was little he could do. He could try to tell him that if Kairi was gone then Namine should be around somewhere, but at the same time where was the girl's heart?

"You know, I met Kairi once."

Axel thought back to that time when he had kidnapped her. "She was pretty tough. When I tried to abduct her, she bit me and still managed to handle the dark corridor without any problems. And even after everything I did she still wanted to help me. Back then I just wanted to get Roxas back and I thought that since she was the closest person to you, I could use her to reach him."

Sora looked up at Axel then. He had never heard this story before and he suddenly felt on edge. Knowing this guy was willing to go to such lengths.

"During that time she didn't seem scared. Only angry at first, but then she seemed to understand me. Heh, even better than I understood myself." Axel looked towards Sora and smirked. "It was Kairi who made me realize that nobodies really did have real feelings. I know for a fact that I had never met Roxas or you when I had my heart, so there was no way I could build a real friendship with him if what Xemnas said was true, but I did. I kept trying to deny it, tried to stay focused on the Organization's goal, but when it came time to get rid of Roxas I felt torn. I didn't want to fight him. Since that time I kept struggling with what I thought were memories of emotions, but when Kairi talked about you and said that she and I were a lot alike because we missed someone we cared about, I realized that what I was feeling was real. All of those emotions weren't remnants of memories of a past life."

Axel closed his eyes as her words came back to him. _"I misjudged you, Axel. You're just like me!" _However other memories of that event resurfaced as well.

_"Nobodies can never feel friendship!" _

_"Axel, it's not true, what he said? Don't believe it! Everyone has the choice to follow their heart, even if it's hard to reach!"_

"Axel?"

The nobody looked over at Sora. "Hmm?"

"Is it...is it possible that someone can reach out to another through their dreams?"

The nobody shrugged, "Dunno, it never happened to me, but if it comes to someone like you then I wouldn't doubt it, why?"

Sora looked straight at the door. "I think someone tried to reach out to me. They told me not to be afraid of my friends, but how can I face them after what I did? They'd turn their back on me. Riku tried telling me it wasn't my fault, but it was my Keyblade that struck her and she's gone because of what I did and I have to live with that. I'll use Phoenix and give up the keyblade. Maybe I can just pass it on to someone else who deserves it more."

"Pass it on? You can do that?" asked Axel.

"Well, yeah. Riku said when we were kids that a guy passed on his keyblade to him. He didn't know what it was until after we got our Keyblades, but I don't really remember."

Axel stood up then and nodded towards the bed. "Maybe you'll remember in your sleep. You weren't out for very long and we both need the rest."

"What about Demyx?" asked Sora.

"He needs to start earning his keep around here, the lazy dork."

Sora let out a small chuckle followed by a yawn. Axel left and Sora decided he was right and climbed back into bed.

If he had known the kind of dream he was going to have he never would have gone back to sleep.

Sora was running. He couldn't tell where he was, other than it was very dark around him. Footsteps behind him sounded someone in pursuit, but he wasn't about to let them catch up. An open space appeared before him and Sora had to take a running leap to make it to the other side. The other person managed to stick the landing as well and Sora took off running again. "Sora, stop!"

He wasn't about to listen and kept running. "Wait a minute!" Sora kept pressing on, only to come to a sudden halt when the ledge ended and there was no where for him to run. Just a sheer drop straight down into the pitch black darkness. The footsteps stopped a short ways behind him and Sora finally turned to see who had been chasing him. Cloud had his sword unsheathed, ready to swing, unsure what the kid would do once cornered. "You have to come back."

"I can't!" Sora told him. "Find someone else to use the Keyblade! I can't do it!"

"I never thought you'd give up so easily," he replied. Those words hurt Sora more than a strike from his sword. "But you can't run from this," he continued, "sooner or later you'll have to face your fears."

Cloud took one step towards him and raised his sword. Sora didn't know what he was doing. Was Cloud really going to attack him? But the warrior was looking behind him and as Sora turned he jumped back in fright as the large black dragon rose up from the empty void below. Its glowing eyes the size of beach balls so close to him. It growled and bared its razor sharp fangs before aiming to strike him. Cloud rushed past Sora and struck the creature's jaw. The dragon reared back and let out a pain-filled screech.

It came back with a vengeance and blasted Cloud with a strong green flame. The warrior blocked it with the blunt of his sword as Sora was forced back from the intense heat. He just caught sight of the swordsman leaping straight at the dragon's head. "No!" Sora shouted, "It's too powerful!"

"That's never stopped me before," Cloud called back, "and it shouldn't stop you either!"

He split his sword in two as the dragon came at him again and sent another stream of green flame. The attacks collided and Sora was forced to close his eyes only to open them again and realize he was back in his sleeping quarters. He rubbed his eyes as he looked around as the images of the dream came back to him. Another nightmare about the Dragon, but it was different this time. It didn't claim another victim. Was it because the victim was too strong this time? No. Goofy, Donald and Riku were strong too, then why? Sora would have to give it some thought before confiding in the others about it, if he even chose to.

Deciding he didn't want to find out who would win the fight just yet, Sora got out of bed, threw on his black coat and headed for the control room and check on Demyx.

_~*~StL~*~_

"He didn't do it!" Riku burst into Merlin's house with such excitement that it set off a series of events in the room. He startled Yuffie who bumped into Leon who slipped on a grease stain and fell into the motorcycle which would have crushed Cid who was still working under it if Zack hadn't rushed in to catch the bike where he was currently trying to keep it from falling. Once Fenrir was safely back on its kick-stand Cid rolled out and resisted the urge to throw a wrench at the kid.

"Forget what I said before! You're even worse than the others!"

"Sorry," Riku replied while scratching the back of his head.

"Riku!" The boy turned to see Tifa who had just reached them. "What's going on?"

"Sora didn't attack Kairi," he told her.

"What? But, you said,"

"I know what I said, but I was wrong. Right after Sora struck at Kairi, Maleficent struck her with a blast of dark energy. Sora was probably too much in shock to realize it, but the witch definitely hit her after he did. I'm sure of it!"

Aerith smiled, "That's great news! If only we could find a way to tell Sora that it might help him come back!"

"Yeah, then he can start usin' the keyblade again and kick heartless butt like he always has!" Yuffie piped up. "So Cid needs to hurry up and fix that thing!"

"I'm goin' as fast as I can, but I ain't gonna go rushin and messin' something up."

Tifa turned back to see Cloud standing a little ways behind her. "Did you hear that?"

He nodded, "It might convince him to come back."

"You don't sound too confident," she told him.

Cloud shrugged, "Even if he didn't strike her, the fact is that she's still gone."

"But won't that be enough. He might want to avenge her."

Cloud shook his head, "Revenge is never the answer."


	31. Computer Savy

_Hello everyone. It's nice to finally have this update finished. I won't lie, I struggled with this one. Part of it has to do with an upcoming chapter. I have four different versions written out for it and I'm having trouble deciding which version I like best. It's a big chapter. Maybe not in length, but the content itself is pretty epic. All I'm gonna say is that two powerful forces of nature will clash. _

_I also wanted to thank you awesome readers for the wonderful reviews this story has gotten lately. I had a lot of fun writing out the banter between Zack and the other characters. He's so much fun to write for. _

_As always, I hope you enjoy!^^_

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><p><em>Chapter Thirty-One<em>

Yen Sid was looking out of the window of his chamber at the sky. He had been monitoring the king's progress which had been pretty impressive. The only dilemma he would have is finding a way home, but the old master wasn't worried.

The stars to his far right caught his attention as he saw a group of stars glow brighter as clouds swirled around until they formed the shape of a lion. "Mufasa?" asked the master.

"Yen Sid," he replied, "Kiara has been abducted by the heartless."

Yen Sid looked troubled by this news. "What is the witch planning?" he asked to himself before looking back to the lion. "Has she become a heartless?"

"No," he replied. "She was only taken unconscious, I sensed no darkness within her, but I fear for the heart of the king."

"Your son?" asked the master.

The great lion spirit nodded. "He is very protective of her and I fear his anger may get the better of him."

"Thank you, Mufasa. I shall see what we can do," Yen Sid replied. The lion spirit nodded before vanishing. Yen Sid waited until the stars returned to normal. "I'm afraid however that there isn't much we can do."

_~*~StL~*~_

Sora knew this was a bad idea. Demyx had gotten fed up with sitting around so the minute Sora walked in to check on him the nobody dragged the teen with him into the castle. "Dem, do you know what you're doing? I told you there are strong heartless here."

"Yeah? And you beat 'em right?" he replied.

"Not with Phoenix. I'm still getting used to this thing!" Sora argued.

"Well, my water clones can back us up so don't worry," he replied. Demyx pushed the entrance doors open and stepped inside. Sora closed the doors behind them as Demyx looked around and let out an impressed whistle. "Whoa, talk about spooky. This place gives me the creeps."

"It's not so bad," Sora replied. "You should see Halloween Town. Graveyards, ghouls, spooky heartless, now that's creepy."

"Yeesh, I'll take your word for it," Demyx replied, mentally crossing off Halloween Town as a world he never planned to visit.

Sora looked upwards as he thought about his friends in that world. "I hope Sally and the Pumpkin King are doing okay. I wonder if Santa's getting ready for Christmas and if those three kids are staying out of trouble?"

"Wait, Christmas? I thought you were talking about Halloween," Demyx tilted his head.

"Well, the world is split into two domains. Halloween Town is on one side and Christmas Town is on the other."

"Who goes there?"

Sora jumped behind a pillar and pulled Demyx with him. At the top of the staircase appeared a tea pot and a clock. Demyx peeked out and he almost burst out in a rant, but Sora kept him quiet.

"I could of sworn I heard something down there," stated the clock.

"We're all a bit on edge after Belle sighted that stranger, dear. It's alright to feel jumpy, but we shouldn't go jumping at every creak and crack. This castle is fairly old," replied the tea pot.

"Perhaps your right, I'm only worried for Belle. With the master gone it's up to us to keep her safe and I don't even want to think about what would happen if the past were to repeat itself."

"I know dearie, I'll set up another patrol if it'll help you feel better."

The two object's voices carried on down the hall until they became too distant to make out. Finally Sora breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Demyx, allowing him to breathe. "Jeez! Are you trying to strangle me?!"

"Sorry Dem, I just didn't want to be spotted. It was hard enough when we bumped into Ariel."

"I don't get it Sora, why are you avoiding your old friends as if they were your enemies?"

"A lot happened, and It's just better left unsaid," he replied as he lead the way along the West Wing staircase.

Demyx took one step leading in the direction of the west wing and hesitated. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Well, the West Wing belongs to the Beast, but since he's not here, it should be okay to take a look."

"If you say so," the nobody replied as he followed Sora up the steps.

_~*~StL~*~_

The door to Ansem's study opened wide as the three men made their way through. Zack took one look at the clutter and whistled. "Whoa, and I thought My room was messy. You sure this Ansem guy was really a skilled professor?"

"Ansem the Wise didn't cause this mess," Leon replied as he watched Cloud pick up a book from the corner of his eye. The blonde sensed he was being stared at and turned to glare at Leon. "What? You don't think I did it," he defended.

"You did spend a lot of time in here," Leon argued.

"It was already messy when I got here and I was mainly hiding from Tifa."

Zack chuckled hearing that, "What? You still shy around her? Cloud, buddy, you gotta tell her how you feel one of these days. You don't want to lose her to some other guy."

"Wh-what are you talking about? Tifa and I are just _friends_."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Give me some credit, Spiky. I may not be a super genius, but I know love when I see it."

"Can we focus on why we came here, please?" asked Leon as he placed his hand on a secret panel on the wall and the wall vanished, leading to a corridor that lead to Ansem's computer room.

Zack followed Leon while Cloud brought up the rear, now in a sulking mood thanks to his friend. Why was it that he could shut off his emotions around everyone else, but he couldn't control them as easily with Zack around?

When the ex-SOLDIER saw the computer room it was an understatement to say he was impressed. "Whoa-ho, what the heck is this thing? Some advanced kind of virtual reality?"

"That's the transporter ray," Leon replied.

"Transporter? Where does it take you?"

"To Tron's world, which is inside the computer."

"Awesome! How does it work?"

Zack rushed over to the computer keyboard and reached out a hand when Leon smacked it away.

"Not why we're here."

"Sheesh, are you always this grumpy?" asked Zack who gave him a kicked-puppy look.

_"Actually, it sounds like he's in a good mood today."_

Zack looked around, "Who said that?"

_"Look down here, at the monitor."_

Zack blinked at the screen as the guy in the glowing blue suit who was waving at him.

"Whoa, who the heck are you?"

_"My name is Tron and I watch over this system. you must be a new user. I don't remember seeing your personal file."_

"My file? Hey, Spiky, should I be worried?"

Cloud only shrugged, "Tron's no MCP, so I don't think so. I'm not good with computers, so I'm the wrong person to ask."

Tron smirked, _"Actually when the MCP got de-rezzed I became the new MCP thanks to the help of our friends." _He then turned to Leon, _"So, what can I do for you Leon?"_

"Still trying to get to the bottom of the mystery program crisis."

_"I see, I've checked all the back-up systems four times and I couldn't find anything."_

"What about a remote access tracker?"

Leon turned to look at Zack. "A what?"

"A remote access tracker. If this computer is so hard to break into and someone did it from a different computer they'd need to hack in remotely right? But the problem with doing it that way is it always leaves a trail."

_"I've searched through the whole system and found no evidence of that,"_ Tron replied.

Zack stepped forward and put a hand out to Leon, "Let me take a crack at it." He cracked his knuckles outward and began typing on the keyboard.

"Ugh, I'm gonna need the password to get it."

Leon smirked as he replied, "Sora, Donald, Goofy."

Zack looked at him and arched an eye brow, "Well, I guess no one would think of that as a password. Okay," with a shrug he typed in the code and got access. "Okay, Tron. Let's go hunting for bread crumbs."

Leon stood back and watched the ex-SOLDIER work the computer like he did it every day. He then turned to Cloud and pointed to his friend silently asking how the heck could he possibly be _that _good?

Cloud just shrugged, "Zack's just full of surprises."

With that he turned and headed back to Ansem's study. There had been another reason why he had been endlessly pacing in this room. Before the heartless escaped and became too many to control Ansem the Wise had been studying the secrets of the heart. He also spent a fair time studying the darkness from the heart. Cloud had been hoping to find a way to control his own darkness or perhaps even find the key to defeating it once and for all. This was before he ended up clashing with Sephiroth past the Great Maw. If it hadn't been for Tifa's light it would have been a tougher fight to win and thankfully Sora had already weakened his enemy.

However what still worried Cloud was that Sephiroth was still out there somewhere. When they had both vanished in that blinding flash of light Cloud woke up in Port Royal, but Sephiroth was no where to be seen. He very well may have been sent to another world, which meant he was out there in the Galaxy, searching, waiting, planning, Cloud needed to find a way to defeat his darkness once and for all and he was convinced the answered was buried here somewhere.

Suddenly a book came flying out of no where and struck him in the face followed by a purring giggle.

Cloud grabbed the book which was still hovering in front of him and looked around.

The Cheshire Cat was lying on the desk, his tail slowly swishing back and forth behind him in delight.

"Decided to hit the books I see. Or, are the books hitting you?"

"Now what do you want?"

"You're easily side-tracked. I can't blame it all on you. That puppy of yours has a worse attention span than the witch's. She never understands my clues."

"Witch?" Cloud took a step towards the cat. "You're helping Maleficent?"

The cat tilted his head and shrugged, "I help who I want to. The witch, the key, the delivery boy, the master, the nobody artist. The one who I won't help is the One-winged Angel. He listens to no one, plus its funny to watch him mess up. He comes either too soon or too late to a world. He once passed right by you and neither of you sensed each other."

"What are you talking about? Who is the key and the nobody artist?"

The Cheshire Cat was impressed.

"You're well on your way to finding the solution to defeating your darkness. As a reward I'll tell you one part of the riddle. "The nobody arist is what's left of the key's lost light. but that's not what you should worry about right now."

"Why?" asked Cloud.

"Because the one-winged Angel is about to find the Key."

With that the cat vanished.

"Wait, I don't understand!"

_"Why don't you ask your ninja friend?"_ the voice echoed before the cat was gone.

Cloud turned back towards the door leading to the computer room. Zack and Leon would be fine without him. Without a word to either of them he left.

_**. . .**_

Back at Merlin's place Riku was handing Cid the tools he needed as he finished up the repairs. Yuffie was leaning against the computer desk, watching them. "This is boring, why don't we see if there's any heartless to fight?"

"Tifa's already taking care of that and Aerith's restocking on healing items," Cid replied.

"Where's Vincnet?" she asked.

"With Aladdin and Jack on the Pearl, making sure she's sail-worthy and waiting for Aerith to bring the supplies," Riku answered.

"Ha!" Cid rolled out from under the bike and tossed his rag aside. "The space road generator's good as new and all the other repairs are finished. Fenrir's all ready to go!"

"Awesome! I'll go tell Cloud, it finally gives me something to do."

Yuffie hopped excitedly towards the door and headed out towards Ansem's study. As she made her way up the stairs she saw Cloud making his way down the steps.

"Hey, I was just coming to get you," she replied. "Fenrir's all fixed and-"

"Where's Sephiroth?" he asked.

"Huh?" Well that was unexpected.

"He told me to ask you about Sephiroth, where is he?"

"He who? Leon?" Yuffie was totally lost.

"Yuffie!"

The ninja princess flinched slightly. It was rare for Cloud to shout. "That was what I wanted to tell you earlier. Belle sent us a letter saying that she spotted a stranger crash-landing on her balcony. She said he had long silver hair and a single black feathered wing. It's got to be Sephiroth. I wonder where he's been all this time-hey where are you going?!"

Cloud had walked past her and headed towards the cottage. a few minutes later the glowing blue light from the space road formed, leading into the sky and Yuffie saw Fenrir traveling along the road before vanishing into the starry sky.

_~*~StL~*~_

Sora and Demyx peered carefully around the corner that lead from the elegant red carpet into the darker hall that led to Beast's chamber.

"This is a bad idea, what if he comes back and isn't in the mood for guests?" asked Sora.

"Then we just say we're looking for the little boy's room," replied Demyx as if the answer was obvious.

Sora was about to tell him that it wouldn't work when a couple of stone gargoyles jumped out from the wall.

Sora remembered that using magic was useless against them and dispatched them quickly enough with a few swings of his sword. If he was being honest with himself he was pretty pleased that he seemed to be getting better at wielding the weapon. A few weeks ago fighting stone gargoyles would have been impossible, but not anymore. As long as he didn't run into any-

"Sora, watch out!"

The boy looked up and let out a small squeak as he dodged the large fireball that was sent his way. Hovering above them was a large heartless that was producing fire. Sora tried to remember what they were called, but he didn't have time as the heartless cast a spell that created fireballs to follow Sora and attempt to hit him. Demyx was on it in a flash and quickly dispatched it with his water attacks.

Sora leaned against the wall and sighed with relief. "Thanks Dem."

"No sweat," he replied cheerfully.

They made their way carefully down the hall and Sora hesitated when they approached the door.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked the nobody as he willed Sora to open the door.

Sora swallowed and gripped the handle, hoping that the room on the other side was empty. The creaked slightly before opening with a whine that echoed through the room. It was dark, Sora poked his head in slightly to see. When he saw nothing he peeked his head in a little further and gulped.

"H-hello?" he called.

"ROAR!"

Sora screamed as he felt someone shove him from behind and stumbled forward slamming his chin on the cold floor as he fell. He looked up quickly to see Demyx leaning against the door frame, holding his middle and laughing with tears in his eyes.

"You should'a seen your face! Dude, you jumped so high it was like you grew wings! Hahahaha!"

"Th-that wasn't cool Dem," Sora stuttered as he tried to calm his racing heart beat.

The nobody was having a hard time controlling his laughter as he entered the room and helped his friend get back on his feet. He then took a good look at the room and let out a low whistle. "Man, this place got trashed."

The room was dark and gloomy, the bed was broken and the frame left in ruins with only the shredded mattress left with the torn and ragged canopy above that was barely holding on. the other furniture in the room wasn't much better. the mirror on the wall was cracked with several pieces missing. A portrait of a young man was torn as if giant claws had ripped over it, making it near impossible to see any features in the man's face. The curtains covering the window were faded and torn, but not as badly as the rest of the room. What caught Demyx's attention however was the glowing Rose that was hovering in the glass case on the small table by the window.


	32. Gift of Despair

_Hiya everyone! I got a review or two that said that the ending to last chapter wasn't quite what they were expecting. Which is cool. I always appreciate honest opinions. Don't worry my wonderful readers. I can take constructive critisim, and actually find it extremely helpful. If I make a mistake or do something that doesn't add up, I appreciate it when people point it out which let's me know to either go back and fix it or make future chapters better. _

_That being said I sort of planned to end the last chapter the way I did. Maybe not in that exact way, but this isn't the first hiccup this story has had to deal with. The farther this story progresses the more I ponder a possible re-write. Of course this version will stay up, but the new version will be better, slightly different and I'll change things around so that they'll be more focused on the characters and certain scenes instead of randomly jumping all over the place. There were a few early ideas that I wanted to use and had them set in stone, but as the story revolved more closely around characters that I didn't fully intend to get major roles some of those ideas have had to change. Cloud for example. Sure, he was suppose to get a big part and pretty much be Sora's anchor, but I didn't expect him to become one of the main characters. I blame that on my recent FF7 phase which is still going strong judging by my growing number of FF7 stories. _

_I still want to include a side story that fills in the blanks for some of the backstories that I've created for these guys. The connection between Axel and Cloud for one, which I never really fully explained. It'll happen eventually guys. Think of it as a Final Mix of sorts. You'll get extra scenes to fill in the blanks soon. In fact when I redo the story I may end up calling it that. Saving the Lost: Final Mix. It probably won't get started until this one ends, but hey! It's something to look forward to. Things will be added, fixed, and I'll probably change things up a little bit concerning some scenes. I will promise one thing. If you like/love this story you'll love the Final Mix version as well. ;)_

_I also wanted to apologize for the lack of updates lately. I've posted about it on my profile page, so check that out for latest news and whatnot. I'm glad to finally have this chapter done and get the story moving again since you've been waiting for almost half a year now? Ouch. I'm sorry guys, hopefully updates will come more easily soon. I make no promises though. My personal life hasn't exactly been making it easy for me lately. ^^; _

_Okay, long A/N is long. Let's get on with the chapter shall we? _

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirty-Two<strong>

It was obvious this castle held many secrets. Most were dark and Demyx didn't care to find out what they were, but in a huge building full of darkness and gloom there stood a single trace of beauty. He felt himself entranced by this glowing flower that seemed to defy gravity. Floating on a small table in a clear glass case. He reached out his hand to remove the case when Sora placed a firm hand on it.

"Not a good idea."

"Why not?" asked the nobody.

"Because this is very important to the Beast. Xaldin almost turned him into a heartless because of this rose."

Demyx blinked and turned to face Sora, "Are you serious?"

Sora nodded, "I was there. Back then the Beast had become filled with anger. He couldn't control himself and attacked those close to him. In order to protect his servants he locked them up in the basement so he wouldn't hurt them and he kept himself distant from Belle."

Demyx shook his head. "Wow, so that's what Xaldin was up to. Then again he did love to toy with people. I guess he was happy to get that job from Xemnas."

He leaned his hands on the table and Sora look around the room. "This place is pretty neat once you get rid of all the creepy decour. I wish we could show Axel."

Something glowed behind him and Demyx turned to see a mirror that he hadn't noticed before. What caught his interest was the image the mirror was reflecting. Sora turned when he heard Demyx explode into a fit on laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Demyx shook his head, unable to answer. Instead he only raised the mirror and Sora looked at it. The teen had to blink a few times before what he was seeing registered. Instead of his own reflection, Sora saw Axel. He was laying in bed, sound asleep and snoring. As Demyx pulled the mirror away he covered a hand over his mouth as he laughed to.

"How does that work?"

Demyx shrugged. "I'm not sure. All I said was _'I wish we could show Axel'_ and the mirror showed him."

"Whoa, I wonder if it works for other people to?"

Sora took the mirror from Demyx and looked at it. He tried looking for a button before tapping the glass. Not finding any buttons or switches he looked at the mirror itself and said the first name that came to mind.

"Show Cid."

The mirror glowed green with small sparks of lightning dancing over the mirror's surface before the image changed from a sleeping Axel to an annoyed blonde. Looking closely Sora could see Cid clear as day. He had his arms folded and was chewing on his toothpick while trying to ignore the ranting Yuffie who was standing right next to him.

Sora smiled a bit. He missed times like that when he'd walk into those two getting on each other's nerves and it'd be up to either Leon or Aerith to break them up. He wondered what they were arguing about this time. Whatever it was, Yuffie was not happy and Cid seemed like his tolerance for her attitude was reaching it's breaking point.

"You miss them."

Sora looked up and blinked at the knowing look Demyx was giving him.

"Of course I do," Sora nodded in response.

He set the mirror back down on the table and turned to leave when Demyx placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, why don't you use that? If it can show our friends, then maybe it can also show our enemies."

Sora looked back at the mirror and thought about using it that way, but then he only shook his head. He didn't want to see what his enemies were doing. All he wanted was to get out of that room.

_"Sora!"_

Sora blinked and looked around. He knew that voice!

"Kairi?"

Demyx arched an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, I guess if you wanted to check on her too, you could."

Sora turned to him and felt a little defensive. "You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?"

_"Sora!"_

"That," the teen replied.

The nobody just shrugged his shoulders. "All I hear is you talking, and to be honest, I'm starting to wonder if you got enough sleep."

Sora wasn't listening to Demyx as he looked around the room. Was it the mirror? No, it was still showing Cid who was now yelling at Yuffie. But, how could Kairi be here of all palces? It didn't make any sense!

"Kairi? Where are you?"

_"Sora!"_

He managed to pinpoint the direction her voice was coming from and he hurried over to a corner, near the side of the Beast's bed. Demyx wasn't sure what to make of the teen's behavior, so he kept his distance while he watched in concern. Sora shoved over what once had been a nice night stand to find himself looking down as a small treasure chest. It was glowing with a soft yellow light. He picked it up and placed his hand on the lid. He could tell the chest wasn't locked like most were.

Demyx walked over and looked over the boy's shoulder, "What do you have there?" But Sora wasn't listening.

"Kairi?..." he secretly wondered if this was possibly her heart, it certainly radiated with a warm light, but why was it in a chest? The last time she had vanished her heart had found safty within Sora. He then realized, maybe it didn't go to him this time because he was the one who had attacked her.

"Kairi...I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me."

He hoped that if he opened the chest her heart would accept him and then he'd find a way to get her back. Even if he had to set his own heart free in the process again he'd do it. As he opened the chest Demyx's eyes lit up as realization dawned on him.

"Sora! No, hang on a second!"

Sora opened the chest and the warm light flashed out, only to be replaced by a dark energy that spiraled up the teen's arm and struck him in the face. Sora let out a scream as he fell to the floor, dropping the box.

_~*~StL~*~_

Outside of Beast's Castle the night sky continued to glow with it's radiant blue shade dotted with starlight. A glowing stream of energy stretched down from beyond the few clouds and onto the ground just outside the castle gates. A headlight appeared along the path as a motorcycle came into view. Cloud eased off on the gas as Fenrir came to a stop along the dusty path. Setting the bike on its kick-stand he gathered his swords together into one blade, prepared to fight his most hated enemy. At least, if what Yuffie and that talking purple cat said was true.

He focused his glowing eyes forward as he made his way through the gates into the courtyard and towards the building's main doors.

_~*~StL~*~_

Demyx ran to Sora's side and shook his shoulder. "Sora! SORA! Come on, man! Axel will kill me if anything happens to you!"

Slowly the boy opened his eyes and placed a hand to his forehead. That's when a voice reached him, but it wasn't Kairi's nor was it Demyx.

_"Why do you continue to resist? Clinging to a false hope that will only get you killed? No matter how long you try to stall, you will eventually give into despair. No one can help you. You've already lost your precious light. You're only clinging to a false hope. Do you really think those two can help you? One is a traitor and the other is a coward. They're only allied with you because you have something they want."_

Sora looked up at Demyx who blinked in shock when he saw the boy's eyes. The whites of his eyes were green while his pupils were purple. The nobody backed up and shook his head. "Oh man, this is bad. We gotta get you back to Axel."

He made to help the kid, but Sora took a step back.

"Sora?"

Sora shook his head. "No, st-stay away from me."

"Sora," Demyx held out his hand, "I just wanna help. That thing was probably a trap left by Xaldin. Axel knows more about those than I do."

Sora shook his head and took another step back. "I don't need anyone's help, just leave me alone!" With that he took off running out of the room.

"Sora! Come back!" Demyx ran after him, but not before collecting the discarded chest.

Over in the large, grand hallway alligned with armored soldiers on either side, Cloud was making his way through the castle. He hadn't run across anyone that could tell him what was going on. Yuffie said that it was Belle who had spotted Sephiroth, but so far he hadn't run into another living soul, which he found odd, especially considering how the heartless liked creepy places like this best. It also hadn't helped that he had went and gotten himself lost.

He was about to call off his search and return back to his original mission. If Sephiroth had been here, he wasn't around anymore. Just then he heard the sounds of fast-paced footsteps coming his way. Someone was running. Drawing his sword, Cloud was prepared to attack if it was an enemy. He hadn't rounded the corner yet, but he'd let the unknown runner round it first.

The last person Cloud expected to see was Sora. The boy was looking behind him as he rounded the bend and didn't see the warrior.

"Sora?!"

The kid's head snapped to look at him and in a moment of pure panic Sora didn't stop, nor did he jump to the side. Instead he charged right into Cloud, head-butting him in the torso and sending them both crashing into the row of suited armor, burying them.

Sora recovered first, sitting up and shaking his head to clear it. His eyes were still glazed over with the strange energy. He tried to clear his vision, but all he could see were shapes that kept shifting and he couldn't focus. Every sound around him seemed muffled as well.

"Sora!"

Hearing his name got him up and running again. A few seconds later Demyx turned the corner and passed by the pile of mangled armor. Cloud sat up then and rubbed the back of his head. "Ow," he said with an annoyed tone.

Standing up and getting out of the mess he looked in the direction the teen had ran off in. Even if Sephiroth wasn't here, he was glad this trip wasn't for nothing. He wouldn't let Sora get away this time. With that in mind he set off at a run after him.


	33. When Dreams Become Reality

_Hello everyone! I know it's been far too long since this was last updated and for that I apologize. I had gotten a little stuck with this and after tossing 4 re-writes to the trash bin I wasn't sure where to take the next chapter. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it's better than what was originally written. Hopefully now that I've got my favorite writing program back up and running things will be a bit easier. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter and here's fingers crossed that it won't take another 3-4 months for the next update. _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Thirty Three<strong>_

Demyx Ran down the curved flight of stairs that led from the grand hallway, stopping to see if he could tell where Sora had gone. From where he stood on the landing he had a pretty good view of the large room.

"So many doors,... he could've gone anywhere."

With a grunt of frustration he decided that he wouldn't be able to find Sora on his own. He took off down the steps and headed to get Axel.

Sora peeked out from where he had been hiding at the bottom of the stairs. Where the rails curled outward it was a good hiding spot and he hadn't been seen. Coming out from his hiding place he looked to where he could go. Definitely not the way Demyx had gone. He ascended to the landing and thought about heading up the opposite set of stairs that he had descended from when someone else shouted his name.

He looked up to see Cloud standing there looking down at him. Sora bolted into the closest door he could flee into; the ballroom. Once inside he raced over to hide behind one of the pillars. His eyes still pulsed with dark energy and as much as he tried he couldn't stop the panic that was rising in him. He couldn't think straight and every action he was taking was out of pure impulse. He couldn't even clearly see anything, just that he was surrounded by people that were after him and his instincts were screaming at him to run and hide. To not trust anyone. He had done a terrible thing and no one was willing to hear his side.

Lightning flashed overhead as the doors flew open, casting a long shadow. Sora saw the silhouette of the swordsman from where he hid. He closed his eyes and swallowed as the footsteps signaled his pursuer had entered the room. The doors closed behind him.

"Sora?"

Cloud knew he was in here. There really was nowhere else to run.

"Sora, why are you hiding from me?"

Sora was afraid to answer at first, especially with the man's voice bouncing off the walls. He couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. Then he realized, if he couldn't tell where the other's voice was coming from, then maybe it would work for him as well?

"Like you don't know," came the teen's reply.

Cloud was a little confused by the kid's answer. "No, I don't. That's why I asked. Why did you run?"

"You surprised me, popping around the corner like that, what'd you expect?" came the sharp retort.

Cloud was liking this less and less. This didn't sound like Sora at all. "Not that. I meant before, back at Yen Sid's place. Why'd you run?" He was trying to buy time; if he could locate Sora he could catch him and take him back. He'd knock him out if he had to, but that was a last resort. He didn't want it to come to that, but something was wrong with him and it was obvious he needed help.

Sora tried to think back, it was so hard to focus. All he could feel was fear. His fists were shaking at his sides as he tried to control his breathing. "I...I-I can't..."

"You can't what?" Cloud tried to sound as less threatening as he could. It twisted his stomach to hear how scared Sora was and realizing that he was part of the cause was not a good feeling.

"I can't be trusted," Sora replied. "You, the others, no one would trust me if you knew what I did."

"Riku said it wasn't your fault," the swordsman replied.

"But it was. I was the one who struck her...she...she's gone because of me."

"Then why'd the witch have to strike her too?" Asked Cloud, wondering if Riku's theory would work.

Sora could only shake his head. "I don't KNOW! I just know I woke up at Yen Sid's place and then that cat showed up and I ran. I don't belong with you guys. Fight her without me. I can't face her. She's already taken too much."

A hand placed itself on Sora's shoulder and his eyes opened wide as he turned to see Cloud there. He pulled away and tried to run, but the quick-thinking warrior grabbed his wrist.

"Sora, stop running! I want to help, but you have to let me in!"

"You wanna help?" Sora asked as he struggled to pull himself free. "Then leave me alone!" Without warning he aimed a kick at Cloud's shin who moved out of the way, but Sora countered by biting down on the blonde's hand. Cloud winced as Sora broke free and made a mad dash for the balcony.

_**~*~STL~*~**_

The doors to the ship slid open as Demyx entered and charged down the hall. He already knew where Axel was thanks to the mirror. When he finally reached the red-head's room he was out of breath, so he resulted to pounding on the door until a voice on the other side greeted him.

Axel had been having a rather relaxing dream. He had been sitting on a beach, relaxing and eating Sea Salt ice cream while a bunch of hula girls danced to a tropical melody. Just as one of the girls placed a flowered necklace around his neck and planted a kiss on his forehead he was forced from his dream as a loud knocking sound woke him up.

"Ugh, forget it Demyx! I'm not switching watch with you. Go away!"

"Dude! Wake up! We got a major problem!"

Axel sighed with frustration as he got up and threw on his black coat. Opening the door he was a bit surprised to see a freaked out Demyx. Instantly he knew something was up. "What happened?"

Demyx was beyond panicked. "It's Sora."

_**~*~STL~*~**_

The storm continued to rage and by now the rain had started falling. Slowly at first, but as Sora climbed onto the roof it had begun to pour. He looked back once again, wondering where his enemy had gone. He wasn't at the bottom of the balcony after he had started climbing. Had he given up?

He walked along the roof, wondering how he'd make his way down as he kept looking back over his shoulder. The fear and paranoia wouldn't leave him alone and with every passing minute he felt like something would spring out of the shadows and attack. Sora knew he still had Phoenix at his side, but in such horrible conditions he didn't want to change having to use it and possibly slip and fall to his death.

He heard something then. Something like a grunt and as he backed up from the sound a hand reached up and clung to the edge. Slowly and without much effort the blonde warrior hauled himself up and over. Standing up he turned and looked until he spotted the boy. Sora took another step back, but Cloud hadn't moved yet.

He couldn't understand why the kid was so afraid of him. He had never raised his weapon to him. Well, there was that time when Hades made that contract and he was told to fight him in the Coliseum arena, but that was a long time ago, back when Cloud was still a wandering lost soul. Back when he hadn't yet begun to forgive himself for his past mistakes. Ever since Sora and his friends had opened Cloud's eyes and helped lead him on the path to finding his light they had been friends, or at least allies against a common enemy. That should still have been the case, but Cloud was worried that whatever the witch had done to the boy was possibly too much for him to handle. The kid was broken and lost. And deep inside, it tore him up to see Sora act this way.

"Sora," he tried again to reason with him, "Why would you think I'd attack you? Your friends need you to come back. You don't have to face this alone." Boy it was odd for him to say the same things his friends had once tried telling him.

Sora just took another step back. "That's a lie. No one needs me. The darkness has won. I'm just a heartless waiting to happen. Next time she'll make me turn on Goofy or Donald or anyone else who's close to me. I can't let that happen. I won't let her win!"

With that he took off running and Cloud had no choice but to follow. He was hard on his heels. Trying to catch up before the kid did something stupid or slipped. The rain was relentless. Even worse was what was just ahead. The section of the roof they were on was coming to an end, with a large gap between this one and the next section. "Sora stop!"

But Sora ignored him. The voice in his head was telling him that he would die if he stopped. He saw the ledge coming up and sped up, hoping he'd make the jump. Cloud could do nothing as Sora took the leap. He made it to the other side and was forced to roll with the hard landing, wincing as he got up and kept going. Cloud had no choice and managed the distance easier with his advanced skills. Sora heard his opponent land and follow after him. This was becoming too real. It was just like his nightmare with the dragon!

"Sora stop!"

The boy was about to ignore him and keep running when he nearly ran right off the edge. The roof had ended and there was nothing but a sheer drop into the darkness below. Sora took a step back; his eyes wide with terror.

"No..." he breathed, his nightmare coming back full force.

Cloud stopped a few paces away from the kid. "There's no where left to run. Come back to Merlin's with me. We'll help you."

Sora wanted to believe that was true. More than anything, but the voice in his head was just too strong. There was always a chance that it was nothing but a trick. Another nightmare and if he gave in he'd be open to attack and the dragon would strike. "I...I can't. There's nothing I can do to stop her. Don't you see? It's pointless to fight her. She'll always win!"

Cloud shook his head, his wet bangs swaying with the motion, "Sora, you can't quit. Not without knowing what you really have. You have more allies than you think; entire worlds that have banded together. The resistance is much bigger than you think."

"Stop lying!" Sora shouted as he took another step back. "Maleficent has beaten all the worlds. Her heartless are everywhere! Here, in Twilight Town, in Disney Castle, there's no where left to run! Soon they'll overtake every world and we'll all be swallowed by darkness!"

"Only if you let it," Cloud replied. "Fear is the witch's greatest weapon and you're letting her win."

At this Sora actually bared his teeth and glared at the warrior. "Are you blind?! She's already won! You want to know why I ran away? You want to know why I gave up? It's because I killed Kairi! I struck her with my own keyblade! That's why I can't ever use it again! That's why I'm running from my friends! You're stronger than I am, why can't you fight her? I'm done playing the hero, especially when I can no longer call myself one!"

Cloud could clearly see the tears streaming down Sora's face and it took quite a bit of effort not to mirror it with his own. He knew all too well how Sora felt. He had been in almost the same boat before. He had been controlled by darkness and forced to turn against his friends. He let darkness use him like a puppet and betrayed those closest to him. He knew the struggle Sora was forced to deal with to come to terms with what he had done. It became clear to him why Yen Sid had sent him on this mission. It was to help himself as much as it was Sora.

"Sora," he started, "You didn't kill Kairi. Maleficent did. Riku escaped her castle and told us what happened. He said Maleficent struck her after you did. You may have injured her, but it was the witch who delivered the final blow."

Sora's glazed eyes burned with anger as he drew his sword and pointed it at Cloud. "Stop trying to trick me with lies! Nothing you say will make me believe you so just give up already!"

Suddenly Sora's eyes widened in fear as the air echoed with a loud roar.

"No..."

Sora turned around and backed up. He really _was _reliving his nightmare! The dragon was coming! Any minute now it would raise its head and glare down at the two. Sora held his sword at the ready. Even if Cloud was trying to trick him with lies, he wasn't about to lose someone to another nightmare, especially when he was awake and could do something about it.

"Don't attack it! It's too strong!"

Cloud had no idea what the kid was talking about, even if he could hear the rumbling approaching, he wasn't sure what to expect. Suddenly from below the roof, the Flaring Comet rose up. Sora lowered his sword as he couldn't believe his eyes. He was expecting the dragon, but this was something that screamed an escape.

The entrance door slid open and Demyx appeared, waving at the teen, "Sora!"

"Dem!" The purple in Sora's eyes that had been burning strong began to dissipate and he reached out his hand. Demyx reached out and took Sora's hand.

Cloud had no choice but to watch as the nobody pulled the kid into the ship and rise higher into the sky. Sora gave the rooftop one last glance before vanishing inside. Demyx wasted no time in closing the door. "Axel, I got 'im! Get us out of here!"

The ship took off into the sky, punching through the clouds and heading out into space.


	34. A Bug in the Works

_Hello everyone, I know updates for this have been slow. I ended up getting stuck for a bit when one of the chapters I had written and ready didn't match what was happening in the story at all. So, I had to start fresh and by doing so, had to rewrite three chapters just so it wouldn't clash with what's already going on. It took a while because there was a lot to go through. Sadly as a result this chapter isn't as long as I'd like it to be. Not much happens in this chapter, but the next few will be full of action, no worries there. ;) I want to eventually rewrite this story and improve on it. I've already explained that in a previous AN a couple chapters back, but I also want to make sure it's worth rewriting. If you could give me your opinion in a review I'd appreciate it. I'll happily rewrite it and make it longer and fix any mess ups and loose ends. I know there's plenty because when I started this I was still fairly new to writing fanfiction and I also hadn't played many of the KH games other than 1 and 2. I also didn't know much about the story of FF7 either, but it's a completely different story now. Now I know the characters and their stories better than just by going off the movie and the first two KH games. That being said, I probably won't change much plot or character wise, but it will be written far better and the chapters will be expanded. As for the promised list of songs I use while writing this as a soundtrack, I still plan to pull up a list for you all, but that will be saved for the end credits in the final chapter, unless you're curious and want them sooner in which case I'll list a few at the end of each chapter if anyone asks for it. _

_Phew, and with that long AN out of the way, enjoy! :D_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Thirty Four<strong>_

The Flaring Comet dropped out of hyper speed as it neared the planet Axel had punched into the navigation system. He knew it was a risky move, but given the lack of choice they had, he figured it was the best place next to the worlds that would be obvious. Once the ship was set to orbit on auto pilot he got up and headed to find the others. He still had no idea what had inclined the others to go exploring on their own. Didn't they realize by now that no world was truly safe anymore? When he reached one of the larger rooms on the ship he was greeted with an odd sight.

Sora had retreated into a corner and had his sword drawn and was pointing it at Demyx who was trying to show the kid that he was no threat. Axel looked closer at the kid for any injuries and was relieved to find none; that is until he saw the teen's eyes. They had regained their purple glow and he was able to piece together what had happened. He then turned to Demyx.

"How long has he been infected with Xaldin's curse?"

"At least over an hour by now," the blonde nobody replied.

This wasn't what Axel wanted to hear. Turning towards the younger teen he tried to see how far gone he was. "Sora? What are you feeling right now?"

Sora's hands were trembling, but he held fast to Phoenix and didn't answer.

"Sora, I want to help, but I need to know what you're going through," Axel tried again.

"I…I only see shadows, your voice is distant, like trying to hear through a wall. I feel trapped. Nowhere is safe and there are enemies all around me."

Axel nodded his head slowly. "That's Xaldin's handiwork alright," he said to himself. "Sora, I want you to listen to me, do you trust me?"

The sword rattled slightly in Sora's hands as if he were staring down a massive heartless and not answering a question. "I…I want to, but there's so much darkness, I've never faced anything like it before."

Axel nodded, "I know you think you're surrounded by evil, but it's just an illusion. There is no darkness around you. It's just a trick. All you have to do is wait it out, it wears off, especially without the item the curse came from. You just need to give it time."

The sword clattered to the floor as Sora sank down and fell to his hands and knees. "It's just like being back in that witch's cell. I can't handle it."

Demyx felt horrible for what the kid was going through. If he hadn't suggested they explore the castle then this would have never happened. He turned to Axel. "Is there anything we can do?"

The fiery nobody stood there thinking for a moment before sighing. "There is, but I really wanted to avoid it." He looked down at Sora who had pulled his legs in closer and was hugging his knees, staring straight ahead as if he couldn't see. "We have no choice. At this rate the kid's spirit will shatter and there'll be no way to bring him back after that."

"What are we going to do?" asked Demyx.

Axel started to head for the door. "You keep an eye on him while I change course. We're going to visit some witches."

"Witches?" asked Sora "No, I can't face her again!"

"Relax, I'm not bringing you to Maleficent. These witches aren't evil, I promise."

Demyx tilted his head. "I thought all witches were bad."

"These witches are more of a neutral party," he replied over his shoulder as he left the two and headed for the bridge.

_**~*~StL~*~**_

Zack was grumbling in his pouty mood while leaning his back against the wall that led to the stairs towards the bailey. He had been that way for a good while now and Yuffie was getting a bit too curious to stay away any longer. She approached him and leaned against the wall next to him.

"What'cha doin'?"

"Thinking," he replied.

"What about?"

"About how badly I'm going to scold Spiky when he gets back."

"How come?"

Zack pushed off from the wall and waved an arm. "Because he just up and left without saying anything. He waited until I was busy helping Leon and then just slipped out! Who does that?!"

Yuffie just shrugged. "That's Cloud for you. He's always taking off on his own."

"That's not how he used to be. When I first met him he never took off on his own, not unless it was important."

Yuffie's carefree mood changed and it didn't escape Zack's notice. "What is it?"

"Cloud's been given a mission," she replied. "One of our best members, a kid named Sora was caught by Maleficent and was locked away for about a month. Some of the resistance mounted a rescue mission and was able to free him. When he got back to Yen Sid's place he was a mess. Being her prisoner had taken its toll on the kid and he ran away. We don't know why, but according to Jack Skellington, Cloud entered the meeting room and said that Sora refused to use his Keyblade ever again."

"Did it have something to do with what that Riku kid was saying before? How Sora didn't attack some girl?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Maybe. No one knows what really happened since Sora didn't want to talk about it and he ran away soon after waking up. After he took off Yen Sid gave Cloud the mission of finding him and bringing him back. He thought Cloud would have the best luck of finding him since he once did something similar."

"What are you talking about?" asked Zack. "What did Cloud do?"

"It's not really my place to say, and if Vincent or Tifa ever heard me telling anyone I'd never hear the end of it, but let's just say he thought he wasn't any help to anyone and he thought everyone would be better off without him. He was also searching for his light he claimed he had lost."

"That's awful,' Zack replied.

Yuffie grinned then, "It worked out though. That's when he first ran into Sora and from what Phil said, Sora really knocked some sense into him. Ever since then Cloud's been trying to work his way back into helping the group. He hardly ever goes off on his own anymore, at least not to the point where he completely drops off the map."

"Still," Zack had no idea his friend had dealt with such a rough life after he had vanished.

"So," Yuffie started, "have any luck with that computer?"

Zack's eyes went wide as he slapped his forehead. "I knew I was forgetting something. I meant to give this to Cid to look at." He pulled out a flash drive from his pocket and showed it to her. "With Tron's help I managed to isolate what was left over of a strange program that was hiding in the computer codes for the town's defense system. I was on my way back here when I took a little breather."

Yuffie only smiled and patted his shoulder. "Well, no one will hold it against you. Everyone's been a bit on edge lately with the war. Now that you've got all that off your chest you can get back to your errand."

Zack smirked and followed her the rest of the way to Merlin's. When they stepped inside Yuffie smiled and let her bubbly nature shine brightly. "Look who I found pouting outside!"

"Wha – I wasn't pouting!" Zack defended.

Cid was just as irritated as ever. "Took you long enough. What'd you find out?"

"Some sneaky program hiding in the codes," Zack replied. "We couldn't figure out what it was, but Tron manage to isolate it and download it into that for you to check."

Cid took the flash drive that Zack handed him and went over to another computer he had and stuck in it in the USB port..

"You're not going to stick it in your high tech stuff?" asked Yuffie.

"And risk the whole system in case it's a virus? I don't think so," he replied. "Now go away so I can work."

Yuffie huffed at his bad attitude before stomping out the front door. Cid always got on her nerves when he got like that. Zack followed after her and looked around. "So where is everyone else?"

"After Cloud's bike was all fixed Cid kicked everyone out and said he needed to reclaim the space that was rightfully his, so the others decided to head towards the Black Pearl and make a few repairs and resupply it. We were thinking of sending some of the Restoration committee to Yen Sid's place to see if we could help."

"I'm still a bit out of the loop. I know this Yen Sid guy is some high class somebody, but that's about it."

Yuffie shrugged. "He's a powerful sorcerer. The king trained under him and when Maleficent began her attack on the worlds he opened up his home and let us set up the main base of operations for the resistance. Everyone fled there for shelter and it provided a safe haven. Some of us chose to stay here since it was easy to find out what was going on in other places. And if we were to constantly travel back and forth then Maleficent may find out secret base. It was here that we got word that the witch was holding Sora and was planning to execute him. Actually she had a bunch of heartless run around and scatter flyers announcing it. I think I still have one."

She checked her person and pulled out folded piece of paper and handed it to him. Zack unfolded it and read the announcement, which seemed more like an invitation.

"_Attention people of Hallow Bastion,_

_Your new ruler, High Mistress Maleficent, invites you to attend a garden party and witness the execution of the treacherous keyblade wielder. It is an event not to be missed. Those who choose not to attend freely shall be lightly persuaded."_

Zack wanted nothing more than to ball the paper up, which he did. "What a load of garbage!"

"I know," she replied. "But it was because of that flyer that we were able to get word over to Yen Sid's and they came up with a rescue plan. I only wish I could have been there to see the look on that witch's face when it went down."

They came around the corner and entered the docks where the rest of the group were working on the Black Pearl. Jack Sparrow seemed to be everywhere at once trying to make sure his precious pearl was treated properly and with respect.

"Oyi! Don't drag those crates across the deck like that!"

"Well they're too heavy to carry," replied Riku.

"The old wizard taught you magic, right? Use it!"

"It doesn't work that way!"

"Then make it work that way!"

"Will you give it a rest," came Tifa's voice. "Nothing's going to happen to your ship, so just calm down before I knock you out and we'll finish this without asking you where to put stuff!"

"Don't be too hard on him Tifa. He's only trying to make sure we have a safe voyage," defended Aerith.

"No, actually I was just concerned about me ship," Jack replied.

"Hey!"

The four of them turned to see Zack and Yuffie approach. Zack kept going until he was about a foot away from Aerith. "You're leaving?"

The young woman smiled sheepishly, "I thought I could be of some help over there. There's not much for me to do here at least."

"But, I just got you back," he whined which made Aerith giggle. "I think you have that backwards Zack."

Zack closed the gap and embraced her. "Doesn't matter. Wherever you go, I go. I'm not letting you outta my sight anytime soon."

She only giggled more, "Fine, you can come with me, but you have to promise to behave. Master Yen Sid is a very highly respected wizard and the others are busy training."

"That works out perfectly," he replied. "I was trained as a Soldier and hero. I could easily whip those guys into shape. The resistance will have one hell of a fighting force by the time I get done with them."

Aerith giggled as Tifa rolled her eyes and went back to helping Riku bring the supplies aboard. That's when she saw Cid running towards them with his bag packed and a stack of papers in his hand.

"What's going on?" she asked.

The computer tech slash pilot stopped in front of everyone flustered and trying to catch his breath. "We gotta get outta here and FAST! That program was a spy bug! Everything on our computers goes straight to Maleficent! She knows I found out about her spy and she's sending a hoard of heartless this way! We gotta get to the resistance before we're all captured!"

_**~*~StL~*~**_

Axel led the way down the old lamp-lit streets of Traverse Town while Demyx carried an unconscious Sora on his back. The teen had fallen unconscious not long after Axel changed course. Demyx became worried when he told Axel, thinking it was maybe a good thing and Sora would finally get some rest, but the look on Axel's face was what worried him. They came upon a wall with a banner decorated with a flame emblem. Demyx tilted his head in confusion.

"What's with the fire painting?"

Axel lifted his hand and shot a fireball at the banner. Instead of bursting into flames, the symbol lit up before the wall vanished and an opening to a tunnel appeared. Demyx had to hurry to keep up with the fiery red head as he made his way through. The entrance closed behind them.

When they reached the edge Demyx saw that they were in a large dome-shaped cave. Water filled the cavern in the form of a small lake and in its center was a tiny island just big enough for the small cottage that stood upon it.

"Looks like the moving stones are gone," Axel remarked.

"Moving stones?" repeated Demyx in confusion.

"It was the only way to get across the water. This place used to belong to Merlin, but when he moved back to Radiant Garden the witches took over the place. It seems they don't want any uninvited guests."

Demyx shrugged. "Good thing you brought me along."

He handed Sora over to Axel as he summoned his sitar.

"Dance Water Dance!"

With a few notes a path of water formed and solidified and they were able to safely walk across it, though Axel wasn't as confident as Demyx was.

Demyx looked around and poked his head inside the hole in the wall. "There's no one here. Are you sure this is the place where these witches hang out?"

Axel stepped inside and laid Sora down carefully in the center of the room. "Yeah, they live here, but they're also gone a lot."

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?"

Axel looked over at Sora and noticed the beads of sweat on the boy's forehead. "Hopefully, not long."


	35. A Hasty Retreat

_Hello everyone, I'm back again with another update. Not as long as last chapter, but I'm not going to worry about the length as much anymore. I believe that's part of my problem. I won't let them become super short, but I won't stress so much over it. And no worries Stardust902. I won't rewrite it until I've finished this one. It wouldn't be fair to you guys if I just left this version high and dry. _

_Enjoy!_

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><p><em>Chapter Thirty Five<em>

The restoration committee went into high gear upon hearing Cid's warning. No longer caring about where the crates and other supplies were stashed so long as they were secure, the group hurried to finish preparations. They were mostly finished when a dark corridor opened in the sky and heartless ships emerged. Abandoning the last of the supplies, Zack and Vincent pulled the plank up and back into the ship as it began to rise. Tifa, Cid and Riku hoisted the anchor as Captain Sparrow spun the wheel and pointed his ship towards the quickest exit.

"Wait! What about Leon?" called Aerith, just realizing that he wasn't on board.

"We've got to keep to the code, lass!" replied Sparrow.

"What code?" asked Zack.

"Anyone who falls behind is left behind," the pirate captain replied.

Zack glared at the pirate. "Well, that's not the SOLDIER code! Pull over! I'll go back for him!"

"Sorry mate, can't risk me ship an' me crew for one sorry sod!"

Zack was about to grab the wheel himself when the vessel was struck by a blast coming from one of the heartless ships.

"They've spotted us, Time to go!" called Sparrow.

Without giving anyone a chance to argue he steered the ship forward and within a few seconds they had left the world of Radiant Gardens behind. Two heartless ships were in hot pursuit after them.

"We can't head to the resistance with them on our tail!" Tifa shouted.

"What d'ya want us to do? Parley? Heartless aren't like pirates, lass. They ain't smart enough to respect the code!"

"Oh yeah, because your code is so noble," Zack shouted back.

"Stow that kind of gab and make yourself useful Mister Fair," Jack replied, ignoring the insult and considering the warrior's outburst lucky. For had it been Jack's father that had heard such disrespect to the code, the young hero would not have gotten off so lightly.

The sound of gunfire cut off anymore arguing as Vincent began unloading round after round at the enemy ships as they gained closer. Cid and Yuffie took to the cannons, firing volleys of cannon balls at the enemy.

One of the enemy's blasts struck the mast and sent one of the large sails toppling down and crashing on deck setting the captain into a fowl rage which the rest of the crew had to endure his cursing ranting on top of everything else. It was then that Captain Jack did something unexpected. "You there, flower lass!"

Aerith looked up and pointed to herself, "Me?"

"Aye! Get up here and take the wheel. I've got some avenging to do!"

Aerith dodged around the chaos as the rest of the crew had taken up their blades as the heartless ships had gotten close enough for some of them to board the Pearl. One of the heartless soldiers landed behind her and prepared to attack when it was destroyed by a well-aimed bullet from Vincent's triple-barreled shot gun to which Zack nodded his thanks and the marksman returned it.

With Aerith at the wheel he told her where to sail and then jumped into the fray, slicing and hacking as he made his way over to his broken sail. Taking a rope and cutting apart part of the sail he whistled over to Zack. "Oyi, brooty, get over here and lend me a hand!"

"That's not my name!" he replied.

"I don't care if you're the king of England, get over here!"

Zack growled as he complied.

With the aid of Zack's strength Jack was able to tie the rope to two strong beams on the ship and attach the ripped piece of the sail to the center. He then had the broken mast stationed against the center, aiming the jagged, broken edge at the enemy ship. On Sparrow's command, Zack pulled the tarp back at far as he could which he imagined looked like a giant slingshot. He pulled back as far as the contraption would allow and strained to hold it taut as he waited for the captain to give the signal.

"Now!"

Zack let go and the broken mast sailed through the open space like a gigantic arrow and struck the first Heartless ship dead center, causing it to explode.

The crew cheered, but it only lasted for a moment. The other ship was still intact and firing twice as much now that it was alone.

Aerith was trying to dodge the attacks, but she was far from a skilled sailor. Jack ran to take over the wheel when a large attack struck the other mast that was above her. She looked up in terror as it came crashing down.

Suddenly a sword came sailing out from nowhere and struck the undamaged part of the mast as the beam hit it and fell to the side. Aerith smiled as she recognized the blade and turned her gaze toward open space as a blue energy road formed around the ship in a corkscrew. A second later Leon landed on the deck with an unconscious rat in a yellow and blue jumpsuit. The group looked on in awe as Fenrir roared above the ship only to turn on the blue energy road and head back towards the remaining Heartless vessel. Cloud made short work of it and within a matter of moments the ship was on a crash course with a nearby rock that was floating in space.

The motorcycle road alongside the ship as Zack gave his friend a thumb's up before Fenrir provided protective escort for the damaged ship as they headed to The Mysterious Tower.

_. . ._

The light of the setting sun shone brightly in the west as the Black Pearl's crew unloaded her cargo. Tifa and Aerith were standing next to Yen Sid as they relayed the bad news.

"So, we've lost our secondary base. This is very troublesome. Not only will it be harder to gather information, but now we will have to be even more careful. I doubt you could travel through the worlds like before. I suspect the heartless will be on the lookout from now on. Maleficent has gained much ground today."

Tifa clenched her fists and sighed. "It's not fair. We lost our home once, and now it's happened all over again."

Aerith placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But, think of what we've gained lately. More allies who are willing to help us."

"Oh, and who would they be?" asked the master.

Aerith smiled and pointed over in the direction of the cargo boxes. "That man over there lifting the crate, his name is Zack and believe me, you could trust him with your life and he'd never let you down."

Yen Sid smiled at her as he nodded. "It sounds as though you've experienced this truth first hand."

Aerith blushed slightly as she nodded. Tifa only smiled before looking around for someone that was missing. She headed away and let Aerith finish giving the master their report when she found him on the other side of the ship.

Cloud was sitting on an empty crate and looking out at the open scene of stars and the setting sun, however his focus was on something else. Tifa could clearly see the telltale signs. "We owe you a big thanks," she stated to get his attention.

Cloud blinked and looked over at her before shrugging and returning his gaze to the open void.

She sighed and walked over to stand next to him. "Need to get something off your chest?"

"I don't think I can get through to him," he replied.

"To Sora?" Her question was met with silence. With another sigh she sat down next to him. "Give him some time. Mulan told me that Skellington said there was a lot of dark magic in the cell where Maleficent was holding him. It might take him a while to fight it."

Cloud shook his head. "I ran into him. There was something wrong with him Tifa. He thought I was going to attack him."

Tifa looked at him then with worried eyes, but he continued. "He seemed bewitched by something and no matter what I said I couldn't get through to him."

"Maybe you should have let Donald and Goofy go with you," she replied.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"Gone. They left to look for king Mickey. We haven't heard from them since." She brought her legs up to her then and rested her chin on her knees. "Maybe Aerith can come with you and get through to-"

"No," he interrupted, startling her.

"Why not," Tifa asked. "If he has a spell on him, maybe she can sure him."

"Not with Sephiroth still out there. I won't risk her safety." It was clear he was not going to budge on his decision.

Tifa knew why he was being so harsh. Ever since Zack had vanished he had done everything he could to keep Aerith out of danger. She assumed it was his way of trying to make up for what happened. Getting up, she walked away without another word.

Cloud on the other hand took that as something he had said wrong as he watched her go. He felt bad, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. A few seconds later Tifa turned and looked at the sky as she saw the blue energy road appear and Cloud took off once again to try and find the key bearer.

Zack only shook his head as he approached Tifa. "That guy just can't sit still for more than five minutes, can he?"

Tifa only shook her head as Zack raised a hand over his eyes to follow the bike until it was too small to track. "He'll be fine though, don't worry."

"I know he will," she replied. "I just can't help but worry sometimes."

Zack smirked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I know. Come on, Yen Sid said there's a hot meal waiting for everyone inside."

She nodded and followed behind Zack towards the entrance to the Mysterious Tower, but not before looking back towards where Fenrir had vanished one more time.

_. . ._

Pete walked through the empty halls of Ansem's study. Heartless were everywhere. Standing guard at the corners of the halls, rushing through and checking each room for those who tried to hide or simply tearing up the furniture and ripping the books apart. Maleficent didn't want to save this place, like she had before. No, she had given Pete strict orders to destroy the place. However there was one room that was to remain untouched and Pete was heading that way now. The study room itself and the secret computer room that lay beyond.

When Pete got there however, he found the space where the computer room led to had been covered up. "Hey, what gives?" he asked as he felt along the wall. "Who's tryin' to pull one over on ol' Pete? I know there's a way in there! Open up!" He began pounding on the wall, but it wouldn't budge. Little did he know that Tron had locked the door and was doing everything he could to keep it sealed. But he couldn't keep it up forever.


End file.
